Lex Stories

My History With Hunger – Live Below The Line

My History With Hunger – Live Below The Line

I have been lucky in my life and have rarely experienced real hunger, the kind of unending chronic hunger that 1 out of 7 people in the world wake up to every day. The only time I really had to face hunger was during 2 school-terms at university, but even then I knew that in a couple of months I’d be back on a work-term and everything would be fine. The first time was the hardest since I hadn’t experienced this before and I didn’t really know what it meant to be hungry. I was in 3rd year, and  at…

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Who is this Travel Bunny?

Who is this Travel Bunny?

With the recent spurt of travel posts around #LexGoFurther, I have been sharing a fair number of photos of Travel Bunny, or the Travel Bunny as he is known to some. As a result, I’ve decided to answer some of the questions I've been getting from people who haven’t met Travel Bunny before.

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Solo Road Trip – #LexGoFurther – A Ford Escape

Solo Road Trip – #LexGoFurther – A Ford Escape

It’s hard to believe that at 48, after doing road trips all my life and traveling alone since I was 5, that I have never, ever been on a long-distance driving trip alone.  Never just gone where and when the road took me, stopping, exploring, turning left whenever the mood strikes. I’ve always had someone with me who’d say, quite reasonably, “aren’t we going that way?” I love driving and every time I get behind the wheel of a car, I get an overwhelming burst of wanderlust. But I have never owned my own car and every time I have…

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The Red Ford Mustang That Started It All – #LexGoFurther – A Ford Escape

The Red Ford Mustang That Started It All – #LexGoFurther – A Ford Escape

There were a lot of road trips and a lot of driving in my youth. I remember fondly the yellow Volkswagen Beetles, the blue Datsun, the burgundy Peugeot, but the car that stands out the most is the red Ford Mustang. My grandmother’s car.  My grandmother was a sporty, speed freak and she really wanted a red Ford mustang. So she got a red Ford mustang.  Then she drove it and she drove it FAST! In the red Ford Mustang, I experienced the thrill of speed and the terror of speed uncontrolled; developed a healthy fear of bad driving and…

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Burgers, burgers, burgers! #LoveCDNBeef

Burgers, burgers, burgers! #LoveCDNBeef

Our second task as Canadian Beef Ambassadors is to talk burgers. Well I can certainly do that! In fact, some of you can attest to the fact that when you get me talking burgers it is sometimes quite hard to shut me up! Which is good, because tonight there is a Burger Party on Twitter complete with a $500 Burger Prize Pack up for grabs! Burger Personality Twitter Party RSVP Now! » – Tuesday, August 7th, 2012 7pm EST hosted by @CanadianBeef and @ShesConnected #LoveCDNBeef — (Don’t have a Twitter account? You can still join in the Discussion Wall at…

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Theatre Geeks Won’t You Come Out Tonight & Dance By The Light Of the Moon

Theatre Geeks Won’t You Come Out Tonight & Dance By The Light Of the Moon

I’m in Waterloo for the 50th anniversary of my theatre troup from University of Waterloo – FASS. Think Harvard Review, with less men-in-drag humour and more math jokes.

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Goodbye Winnipeg

Goodbye Winnipeg

Goodbye Winnipeg — Originally uploaded by LexnGer As I’m siting on the train waiting for the wheels to start turning and the gentle rocking to put me to sleep, I’m realizing how different this trip has been than all my other trips to Winnipeg. First, and most obviously, I haven’t been back in about 34 years. The same number, in hours, it took me to get here and will take me to get home. Second, and less obviously, this is the only trip to my parent’s home town when I’ve actually been with one of my parents. (at least in…

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5YAT: Hey, Are Those Voices?

5YAT: Hey, Are Those Voices?

8 January, 2005 – Grey & Clear –10º Snapped awake at Midnight. Heard 2 male voices out my bedroom window, and then a low chuckle. It sounded like they were very close, as if they were just down the path at the School House. So I rolled out of bed onto the floor so I couldn’t be seen through the window. Got dressed and went down to see what was happening. Nothing. No dogs barking. No loud skidoos or ATVs. No voices. But it’s pitch black outside, the dogs are agitated and I am completely shot through with adrenaline. I’ve…

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5 Years Ago

5 Years Ago

5 years ago today I woke up on an island, unsure of when I’d be able to leave. It was a good day, my father was being let out of the hospital after open-heart surgery. He was going to stay with friends who I knew loved him dearly and would take amazing care of him.  I knew that the entire community was rallying around and signing up for daddy-sitting slots because after major surgery like this people need round the clock care. I knew all I had to do was keep the fires burning, feed the dogs, chickens and rabbits…

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Have the Best Day of Your Life

Have the Best Day of Your Life

As I propped my bike against the window of Mr.Movie and approached the return slot with my movies in hand,  I heard “so, did we like our movies?” I popped one movie into the slot and replied “one was great, one blew.” I turned my head and saw a guy in his early 30s wearing a Dominion apron with his black coat over top, and bringing a cigarette up to his mouth. He took a puff and reached for the door, “we should get our money back,” he said. “It’s okay, they warned me and I promised not to complain if I didn’t…

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The Story of The Travel Bunny

The Story of The Travel Bunny

Have I told you the tale of the Travel Bunny? Stop me if you’ve heard this one. One Easter weekend, a long long time ago, I was in the magical Town of King’s visiting my mother. I was very poor. I was attending university and all my funds had gone into paying for my classes and the cold, dingy hovel I shared with 4 other students and 3 UNIX boxes. Food was scarce and money was scarcer, but I had scrapped together enough pennies to get me to my mother’s house for this important celebration of hams and lambs, of…

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