Be warned. It's coming. The day we love to hate: Valentine's Day. I’m well aware of the fraudulence of its sentiment and the pressure to conform. I realize that it is a day largely cooked up and exploited for commercial gain. Not wanting to get trapped in a web of cheap chocolate and tacky, overpriced, romance themed dinners, I have therefore purposely chosen to ignore February 14th for many years. But just because I ignore the exact date doesn’t mean I don’t think I deser

When I set out to write a profile of Shirley Burr for a local magazine some time ago I had no notion of the exciting, adventure-packed life that would ultimately be revealed. Shirley was an extremely practical person. She thought that a curt resumé of her accomplishments, one that omitted any drama, would suffice. I disagreed. Hence it took more than a year to write this story. The magazine published it over five issues! Delving into memory took time but in the end I think it