Consider this

He just could not take it anymore. That is what William Lafaver told a 911 operator when he called in to confess to a murder that he said that he had committed more than 30 years ago. According to CBC news, Lefaver’s common law wife was found dead in a cabin near Prince Albert National Park in 1975. Lafaver originally told police that she fell and hit her head on a stove. With no witnesses and no other information to go on, the death was ruled “accidental” and the matter was dropped. That is until January 30, 2008 when Lafaver called and confessed to the crime. The incident had weighed heavily on him for years, he said. He had to do something because he was tired of living with the guilt. (Not a very “Christmassy” article so far, hey? Give it a minute.) All of us have things in our past that we wish we could “undo” and things that “weigh heavily” on us. Over the years, I have spoken with countless people who are being haunted by memories from long ago. This is where the ...

This past weekend, I was helping a buddy of mine who is building a house north of town. At the end of the day, we decided to clean up some of the junk and make a trip to the dump. When we got there and started unloading, we noticed a box that contained a bunch of hockey trophies. Someone had dumped their medals, a “top scorer” trophy with the player’s name engraved on it, several team photos and even a “Provincial Championship” plaque. All told, there had to be more than 30 different awards in that box. Now, I do not know the story behind how all those things got there (If you know, please email me as I would love to hear “The rest of the story”), but it was an odd sight. I imagine that, at one time, those trophies would have been treasured items. They were the reward for hours and hours of practice and hard work. Ten years ago, (1998 was date inscribed on many of them), scoring titles and provincial championships were likely the most important things in the world to that p...

“We are going to be in the Hudson.” Those were the last words that the air traffic controllers would hear from US Airways flight 1549. \ Until that point, everything had been routine. The lift off from New York’s LaGuardia airport was uneventful and the aircraft was gaining altitude. Approximately two minutes later, at 3,200 feet (980 m) the airliner flew into a flock of “Canada Geese”. Moments later, Captain Chesley Sullenburger made his first distress call stating, "Hit birds. We lost thrust in both engines. Returning back towards LaGuardia." As the Captain turned the airliner back in a southbound direction, it soon became obvious that they did not have the altitude or the air speed to make it back to the airport. Sullenburger asked if there was another option. Air traffic control responded that “Teterboro” airport in New Jersey was to his right. As the plane passed over the “George Washington bridge” (at a height of less than 1000 feet), Captain Sullenburger wa...