Another Day in Paradise

Another Day in Paradise

It was supposed to be our day off, lounging beside the pool of the Sandy Beach Hotel, in the town of Pyla on the coast of Cyprus, overlooking the glistening Mediterranean. Laura had vanished to the Philippines to attend to her dying mum, while I was lumbered with two...
The Mayor Comes to Town

The Mayor Comes to Town

A few years ago, a friend of mine, a director of Calgary Economic Development, called me up. “We have an American Ismaili Muslim business delegation visiting us for a week. Can you act as host. You’re an Ismaili and a local businessman.” “What do you want me do with...
The Graduation Gap

The Graduation Gap

We chose the Delta West Academy for our kids because the school taught from pre-school to Grade 12, and its pupils totalled a mere hundred. My boys, going through the system twenty-one months apart, had an enviable class size of 8. Within this close-knit community,...
What Price Freedom?

What Price Freedom?

Recently, I was almost kicked out of Singapore within ten minutes of arriving. It had been a long and continual sleep-interrupted journey—a sixteen-hour flight from Vancouver. Once again, I was woken up by the steward. “We are landing in twenty minutes. Please...