Author Archives: Peter Carter

I looked over at my wife Helena, in the passenger seat. PETE’S A FAN: Gettit? Pizza fan. Never mind. The guy at Marconi’s even  looked and talked like Don. “I’m pretty excited,” I said calmly.  “You might,” she warned, “be disappointed.”  Me: “I know.” That exchange took place at 2:10 this afternoon. I’m not joking aboutContinue reading “Tasting the dragon”

A PEEK BEHIND THE SIGNS Instead of a regular card this past Valentine’s Day, I bought my wife Helena an electric sign. It went on the sill in our front window where–our neigbour Delanie was quick to point out–our cat Iris usually sits. In fact, Delanie suggested that Iris might be miffed at the sign.Continue reading “Top 10 Iris Cat FAQs.”

IN LOO OF LITERATURE: Many Carters could recite chapter and verse of this classic. Three days ago, April 11, 2018, big problems in the Carter household. The furnace wouldn’t go on and the temperature was dropping fast. The thermostat flashed: “lo [sic] battery”. Here’s the quick version of what happened next. Step One: Open fridgeContinue reading “The Night Robes Saved The Day”

BUILDING BRIDGES TO CHINA He’s going to kill me when he reads this, but about four minutes ago I decided my friend Douglas Perry is the Waylon Jennings of classical music. Read this handful of Douglas facts and tell me if you don’t agree. 1. Douglas, who’s about my age or maybe a bit older,Continue reading “Don't it drive you crazy when they make it look so easy?”

I had just begun my new gig as editor of the Metropolitan Toronto Business Journal and Jerry Collins was the CEO of the city’s Board of Trade, which ran the magazine. I met him in the hallway en route to the bathroom and he asked where I was from. SARTORIAL SAVVY  IS A STRONG SUIT:Continue reading “5 Lessons Learned at 12 Jobs”

FLUKES RULE: I Google-imaged “Miracles” and this is the first that came up Sunday afternoon past, my wife Helena suggested we visit some of the old folks at the nursing home near our house where her late mother, Ria Szybalski, spent her final days. I suggested that Sunday was unseasonably warm and sunny and maybeContinue reading “My 107-year-old visitor from the future”

On most Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays since June, I have found myself sitting across the table from an entrepreneur named Kiran who runs a food-related business out of MakeWorks, the shared work space I go to in the west part of downtown Toronto. I don’t understand a lot about Kiran’s business, but I do knowContinue reading “MakingTracks From MakeWorks”

“MAJOR SPACE PEEP” “I think you’d like this book,” my wife Helena said, adding, “it’s inspirational.” And then she felt obliged to add, “he has accomplished so much!” Helena was referring to a “An Astronaut’s Guide to Life,” by Canada’s favourite regular guy, Commander Colonel Chris Hadfield. And my response was: “What is the possibleContinue reading “Facing up to Hadfield, a real McCoy”

VINTAGE DAD DOING DISHES: That’s the original caption of this pic that I Google-Image Swiped. My writer colleague Debbie Fein-Goldbach just Facebooked me this following message: “I’m curious why you love doing dishes.” She asked because I’d mentioned, on Facebook, that a few years back, I had suggested to a couple of magazine editors thatContinue reading “7 Reasons Why I Like Doing Dishes”

Two days ago. AND YOU WONDER WHY THE NAME’S Carter? I had just scrunched up my serviette and tossed it onto my plate after a laugh-a-minute lunch with my big sister Charlene. We were at a place called Fran’s in downtown Toronto. And at the exact time the server placed the vinyl folder containing ourContinue reading “Where we learn to play the new hit game: Rib-A-Sib”