On The Road With Denny D

The lake. A cedarstrip canoe floats on the tea stained waterway known as Wistawasing aka wassi lake. Two brothers paddle effortlessly toward the island across the way. The morning sun is hovering just above the horizon, illuminating a path on a mirror-smooth lake. The only conversation is that of paddles entering and leaving the surface. We are both lost in thought or maybe a silent prayer.  I think of that lake often and when I think of him. We were young, alive and had all the time in the world. We didn't know how little time we had. Who would be first or who would be last was always decided on the races we run, not life and death.  I go back to the lake, to a huge rock on the shore. The place where I received lectures every time I saw my brother. I was older than he, I should have been giving them instead of receiving them. Old doesn't mean wise. He asked me the same question “What are you going to do with your life?” I never could give him an answer because I didn't k...

A note to friend in christ. I believe the house of God has many windows and many doors. Sometimes we walk in, sometimes we walk out. Sometimes we just walk away. But the windows are always open just enough to let a little light in. Sometimes we need to tip-toe and look inside once again. I looked in and there you were. I was surfing the net, to be truthful doom scrolling. Luckily, for me I saw Father James Martin SJ,  on Stephen Colbert. A spark ignited in me to share the following story. My partner is a practicing Catholic and he goes to church every Saturday night. I am more of an east meets west kind of guy. Imagine Jesus and Buddha at a bar.  I'm the bartender and I don't know who to serve first.  I have only been out since my sixtieth birthday. It was during the time of the pandemic. I was divorced and laid off. I could have easily spiraled out of control. The good news; I lost a job I hated, and I had time to write, think, walk and pray. I eventually sta...

"Let us be silent, that we may hear the whispers of God" Ralph Waldo Emerson Sometimes wake up and immediately write about another strange dream I had. I have a spiral notebook tucked into a magazine rack next to the couch for just such an occasion.  I often wake up in the early hours of the morning. Instead of trying to fall back to sleep, I sit lotus style with a comforter wrapped around me. I breath in and out and invite the spirit to move me. I only invite those who God has appointed to me to be present. Good spirits are welcome.  I wait for words. It usually doesn't take long. Often the content comes from another place. I call this the Emerson effect.  I just listen and to write when the spirit speaks to me. In that moment, I am not the author, just the holder of the pen.  There is slso the funny side of life. And this can pop out nowhere. There is plenty of room on the page for that as well.  The kettle is whistling. I will be back.  Today the toc (te...

The first snow squall. Written or embellished by:  Dennis Deschamps  a song for  Family and friend Christmas 2025 On the first snow squall the town folks did say Watch how you’re driving stay out of my way The roads and streets were an icy sheet On a cold winters’ night of rain, snow and sleet Snow squall, snow squall, snow squall, snow squall A storm is coming it’s starting to fall They looked up and saw a car Stuck in the ditch he didn’t get too far And up the road at a green light Someone is texting stopping traffic in spite Snow squall, snow squall, snow squall, snow squall A warning is one thing But it didn’t turn out so well Snow squall, snow squall, snow squall, snow squall On the second snow squall it was the same as yesterday People still bitching, get out of my way The streets were littered with ice, snow and debris With abandon cars from a demolition derby Snow squall, snow squall, snow squall, snow squall A warning is one thing But it didn’t turn out so well

There's always a story to tell and people to tell it. Every story takes time to tell. There are generally two speeds to story telling: Fast and slow. An example of slow can be found in church. The priest reading the gospel decides to separate every sentence with the invention of new comas.  All good books including the bible are not published until it have been edited. Editing includes the proper punctuation. Sounds easy enough. Do you follow? And you could follow and read along with the priest but you'll never see those extra comas. Why? Because they are not there! Jesus didn't put it in, so why is this guy doing it! The priest was like Captain Kirk. The bridge is the pulpit. "And Jesus said, (pause)to his disciples (pause again)I will make (surprise, keep pausing)you fishers of men" Wow, he got up to four words. When the verbal waltz was over I heard two words. To be truthful, I heard two words and felt an elbow. The elbow was my mother and the words were; Wake...

We bought a van and we did so for one reason: camping. Our first test would be at Jeremy's Bay Campground. Kejimkujik National park had many sites to choose from usually but because people were spending their hard earned money in Canada (boycotting America) we only had a few spots available. The van had stow n go seats so it gave us enough room for a couple roll out mattresses. Setting up camp was pretty simple a dinning tent a couple of chairs and a fire.  Luckily for us we were there a week before the fire ban. Things were great until it was time to sleep. There was a crying kid a few sites away who was always in trouble for something. His crying continued into the wee hours of the morning. I finally locked the doors and fell asleep. Then it was tinkle time. As I opened the door the ani-theft alarm started to blare and I couldn't turn the darn thing off. After a few minutes of frustration and yes, cussing, I got it to stop not before waking up the entire camp.   I try t...