All posts by George Walters

George Walters is a Canadian columnist and author with more than forty years of writing experience. For over twenty years he has written a weekly column for Postmedia Network — Canada's largest newspaper chain — never missing a single week, publishing fifty-two stories a year. Combined with his work in Reader's Digest Community Voices, World News, Country Living, The Country Register, and farm and rural lifestyle magazines across Canada, he has published well over two thousand stories drawn from everyday life. He writes about farm work, fishing, old trucks, and the kind of people you only find in small towns — but just as likely he'll hand a voice to a weathered telephone pole, or turn his eye on something happening in the world today and tell you exactly what he thinks about it. No subject is off limits. If there's a story in it, George will find it. He has been called a philosopher of everyday life, a description that came up more than once during his television appearances over the years — and it's not hard to see why. His writing has a way of making the ordinary feel worth sitting with. He is the author of eleven books, including yearly short story collections and the Clay Moretti Files mystery series. Clay is a fifty-year-old private investigator who drives a 1967 Ford Galaxie, smokes cigars, and operates by a code the modern world gave up on a long time ago. The cases are present day. The man handling them is not. All titles are available in paperback and eBook on Amazon. Together, George and his wife Ruth have also created Elmer Finds His Way, the first in what he hopes will be a long series of children's books. Ruth did all the illustrations, as she has for every one of George's books — and beyond that she designed and painted the covers as well. Her work is woven into every page of everything he has published. A few words from readers: "I pulled up a kitchen chair and read your story three times." "You have a way of making a person homesick for a place they haven't been to." "Thank you for writing things that make old people and kids feel the same way at the same time." All my titles are available in paperback and eBook on Amazon.ca here.
George's Writers Corner, What’s Really Going On

Science, Ant Queens, & An Old-Feller’s Wonder

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Only On The Walters Post

I was reading the news the other day, and I had to stop and shake my head. One page said the rover on Mars may have found a sign of life. Another said ants are giving birth to a whole new species. Then, out past the stars, there was some kind of burst of light that no one could explain. Mixed in with that were stories of glaciers melting, oceans slowing down, and plans to live on the Moon.

Mars stood out to me. The rover might have found what they call a biosignature. That’s just another way of saying something lived there once. If that’s true, then life may not be so rare. It shows up where it can. I thought about how I’ve seen weeds come through gravel or a seedling push out of a crack in an old stump. Maybe Mars isn’t all that different.

The ants made me pause, too. A queen that can bring another species into being—I don’t know about that. Ants, to me, were always steady workers: carrying and digging, never stopping. Seems there’s more to them than meets the eye. Nature’s like that. Just when you think you’ve got her figured out, it surprises you. Same as when I cut into a piece of wood, expecting it straight and smooth, only to find the grain has curled on me.

And then there’s the sky. Black holes, waves in space, stars sending out signals no one can explain. They even found a planet with a carbon atmosphere circling what they call a black widow star. Sounds more like a story than science. Maybe that’s the way it is… the universe isn’t here for us to solve, just to watch.

Meanwhile, the earth goes on. Glaciers sliding into the sea, oceans changing their path, storms gathering. And while all that’s happening, they say we may be living on the Moon before long. That struck me as odd. It’s like leaving chores undone at home while talking about starting a new place down the road.

Being a little up in years, I don’t get alarmed much any more by these things, more curious than anything. At any rate, the ants will do what they do, the oceans will move, the stars will shine, and we’ humans will keep trying to make sense of it all. Science doesn’t hand us final answers. It hands us questions. And sometimes, that’s enough.

Maybe the lesson is simple: keep on going, watch closely, and leave room for wonder.


Until next time, keep your minds open and your stories alive. GW

All my books are available on my Amazon Author Page.

If you purchase a book, a brief Amazon review really helps new readers discover my work—it means a lot.

Support my writing: Support My Writing

In Closing, I Would Like to Wish You Well!

George Walters | [email protected]

George's Writers Corner, Weather, What's Happening

From the Quiet End of My Desk

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Only On The Walters Post

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Good Morning. You know, I often wonder if the meaning of life isn’t hiding in the pauses we skip right past. Those little silences between words, the quiet stretch between chores, the still moment when nothing much seems to be happening. We treat them like dead space, but maybe… that’s where the real weight of living sits. Not in the noise we make, but in the things we don’t notice. Food for thought on this fine Sunday Morning!

It looks like once again we are in for another nice day here in the North. Other than some clouds that might hang on throughout the day.

Highway 522 has slowed down a lot from what it was, and I see a lot of folks putting their boats away for the year. The steady summer traffic has faded, replaced by the quieter routines of autumn. Docks are starting to look emptier, and the cooler air has everyone preparing for the colder months ahead. It’s a clear sign that the season is changing, and the lakes, rivers, and streams are settling in for a long winter’s rest, not to forget the trees, which are starting to show their colors. And I have to say they are sure looking nice.

On another note, yesterday I managed to put the first coat of paint on the old wooden horse I am restoring. My wife will now add her touches, and then it will be ready to set back outside for all to see… and for the kids to sit on when they drop by for a visit. As I mentioned in other posts, I’ll take a picture for you to have a look at when it’s all said and done.

So what are you up to today GW?

Well, today I am going to be starting another project in my old woodworking shop. I have a desk here in the living room that I use for writing, but it’s not exactly what I like, so I’m planning on adding a new wooden top. When that’s finished, my wife is going to put a sign of sorts on the front of it with a logo that says “One More Story,” which is what I write under, in my newspaper columns, magazines, and a few other places. Kinda fitting, I thought. And again, when it’s all said and done, I’ll take a picture of the desk before and after to show you. Hmm…. maybe I could even make a YouTube video about it, I’ll see how energetic I get. At any rate, I first have to pick out some nice yellow pine from my stash and get it planed down, which I’ll do this morning. Yesterday, I installed some new planer blades, which will make the job a lot easier. So, yeah, that’s what I’m going to be doing today.

So with that, I am off to have the breakfast my lovely wife is making for me, which will be a few homemade pancakes with, of course, a layer of fresh syrup over the top. If I’m lucky, she might even add an egg easy-over on the top, along with some grass-fed bacon. That should hold me for the morning. After that, I’ll enjoy a cup of hot English tea we order from Britain while sitting on our front porch. Pretty nice way to start the day, don’t you think?


Until next time, keep your minds open and your stories alive. GW

All my books are available on my Amazon Author Page.

If you purchase a book, a brief Amazon review really helps new readers discover my work—it means a lot.

Support my writing: Support My Writing

In Closing, I Would Like to Wish You Well!

George Walters | [email protected]

George's Writers Corner, Weather, What's Happening

Things I Think About While My Coffee Gets Cold

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Good morning, you know, the older I get the more I’ve noticed that the past doesn’t really stay behind us, it just waits until we’re tired enough to listen. And I been doing a lot of that lately.

Well, looking outside this morning, it really looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day. Once again, the sun is shining, and I have to say, our property is looking especially nice. You know what I love the most? It’s the way the sunlight hits the trees and the shadows stretch across the open areas. There’s just something about that moment that makes me want to pause, sit back, and truly take it all in.

Highway 522 is still quiet these days, as are our stores around town. It really lets you know that the season has changed—which is just fine with my wife and me, as we enjoy the quietness of the country that surrounds us. That said, things will pick up a bit when hunting season arrives, but that’s still a ways off yet. Deer season usually starts around the second week of November. Still, time sure seems to be flying by fast these days.

On another note, yesterday my wife and I managed to get our mowing out of the way for another couple of weeks. I have to say, it really makes the grounds look mighty nice… so nice that some front porch sittin’ will definitely be in order after breakfast. We also had a lot of folks drop by our gift shop yesterday, even though I somehow forgot to put up our open sign. Not sure how I managed that… probably too much on my mind. But in true small-town fashion, people found their way in anyway. Actually we had ourselves a great afternoon, sold a bunch of books, some flutes, some small wooden items we made, and a some of my wife’s paintings.

We also had a lot of our American friends stopped by, which is always a treat. I sure do enjoy hearing what’s happening south of the border. You know over the years, we’ve made some great friends in the good ol’ USA—honest, salt-of-the-earth folks who understand that if your boots are muddy, you probably got something done today. The kind who’ll swap stories about just about anything, share a laugh if you’re still in your overalls at noon, and know that “fresh air” sometimes smells like a little manure.. That’s real country friendship… where nobody cares if you forgot your sign, as long as the coffee’s hot and the stories are good. And I have to tell ya I have plenty of them.

So with that, I’m off to enjoy the breakfast my lovely wife has set in front of me. After that, we’ll both head out to the front porch and then? Well, then I’ll think on what I want to do today. Just because I can. Sometimes, that’s the best plan of all.


Until next time, keep your minds open and your stories alive. GW

All my books are available on my Amazon Author Page.

If you purchase a book, a brief Amazon review really helps new readers discover my work—it means a lot.

Support my writing: Support My Writing

In Closing, I Would Like to Wish You Well!

George Walters | [email protected]

George's Writers Corner, My Opinion Only

Canada’s Submarine Choice: My Opinion!

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Only On The Walters Post

A while back, I weighed in on Canada’s hunt for new submarines. I thought I had it figured out, but after digging deeper, here’s where I really stand.

When it comes to submarines, I we shouldn’t play roulette with our navy.

Let’s skip the sales pitches. Canada has two options: Hanwha from South Korea and Germany’s ThyssenKrupp.

Hanwha’s promising the works—“We’ll build fast! Create jobs! Supercharge Canadian industry!” It all sounds great, but here’s the thing: speed and big promises don’t equal quality. You can build a flashy sports car in a hurry, but let’s see how it holds up when you hit a pothole the size of Lake Ontario.

Now the Germans on the other hand—ThyssenKrupp. They’ve been making submarines since before disco. Trusted by NATO, built to last, engineered with that famous German precision. When you buy German, you get reliability. No frills, just function.

Bottom line: Hanwha might deliver on time, maybe even build something kinda decent. But for submarines—where lives are at stake—you don’t go with the new kids on the block. You trust the team whose record proves they know what they’re doing. That’s Germany.

Deep underwater, a shiny promise won’t keep you alive. It’s not about speed or showmanship. It’s about trust—knowing what you have will last. That’s what really counts.

And that’s the way I see it.


Until next time, keep your minds open and your stories alive. GW

All my books are available on my Amazon Author Page.

If you purchase a book, a brief Amazon review really helps new readers discover my work—it means a lot.

Support my writing: Support My Writing

In Closing, I Would Like to Wish You Well!

George Walters | [email protected]