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.

Not Elected, Just Handed the Reins

Short Note: “Why Canada” Is Giving Mark Carney a Shot, in the news this morning.

Hmm, well Mark Carney might be stepping in as Canada’s temporary prime minister, but let’s be clear… he wasn’t put there by the votes of all Canadians. Leadership changes like this might follow the rules, but… they don’t always sit well with a lot of the people. With an election looming, it’s up to Canadians to decide if Carney should keep the job, or if someone else should take the reins. Now that’s the truth of the matter.

Until the next time: Keep Your Minds Open & 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]

More Trees Than People… Just the Way I Like It on March 10/2025

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Good Morning: If you want to be a northerner, you better get used to wearing a winter coat in the morning and a t-shirt by noon.

Heading off to bed last night, I figured we’d be waking up to fresh snow covering the ground. But wouldn’t you know it, morning rolled around, and not a flake had fallen. The trees though, are still wearing their white coats from yesterday’s snowfall, but the sunshine is starting to show herself. And you can feel the chill starting to give way to a bit of warmth.

Weather Forecast For Port Loring , Ontario , Canada:

Currently 23° · Sunny

Port Loring, ON, Canada

Rather cloudyToday46°39°Rather cloudy but some sunshine
Breezy in the morning; mostly cloudy and cooler with a little rain in the afternoon, ending before temperatures fall below freezingTuesday42°9°Breezy in the morning; mostly cloudy and cooler with a little rain in the afternoon, ending before temperatures fall below freezing

Highway 522 is mostly clear, and it should improve further as the day warms up. Please note though, that temperatures are expected to rise well above freezing today, which may lead to a lot of melting snow and potentially slippery conditions.

Yesterday… I had planned to work in the old woodworking shop, sorting out the mess I made the day before, but as things often go, I didn’t make it out there. Instead, I decided to spend the day writing up more stories here at my computer. It turned out to be a great day for writing, actually, it’s been a good couple of days… sometimes the words just flow when you least expect it.

So, what’s on the agenda for today, GW? Well, that’s a good question. I’m thinking I’ll head out to the shop a bit later, once I get a few things wrapped up here in the house. Either way, my day will be full, as it always is, and that’s a good thing. Keeping busy with projects helps keep my mind focused on the good, instead of dwelling on the bad.

With that, I’m off for the breakfast that my lovely wife has made for me. After that, we’ll enjoy our cup of hot cocoa and settle in for a good chat, which is something I look forward to every morning. You could say it’s one of those simple joys that gives an old feller a reason to get out of bed. Then again, it seems I’ve always had a good reason to get up, whether it’s work, family, or just the promise of a new day.

Until the next time: Keep Your Minds Open & 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]

Protecting Free Speech, Even on X

Only On The Walters Post

These are my own thoughts from what I’ve seen and lived through. I’m sharing them to spark some thinking and honest conversation, not because I have all the answers.

I read an article the other day that got me thinking about X and its role in national unity. The idea that X is a threat just because of who owns it doesn’t sit right with me. The real problem isn’t the owner, it’s how we use these platforms.

Free speech is a key part of any democracy. Whether we agree with someone or not, we need to defend their right to speak. It’s easy to blame one person, like Elon Musk, for causing trouble, but the issue is bigger than that. If we start controlling platforms because we don’t like what someone says or does, we’re getting close to losing our own freedom to speak. And that’s something we should be careful about.

I get the point in the article about X showing more extreme views, but isn’t that just a sign of what’s happening in society as a whole? People have always had strong opinions, and now, with social media, we just see more of it. We can’t just blame the platform or its owner for the way people use it.

In my mind the real solution isn’t banning X or any platform. The solution is teaching/showing people how to think for themselves. We shouldn’t need to hide from tough ideas, we need to be able to argue against them. Banning X might seem like a quick fix, but it’s a bad idea. Taking away the platform could make things worse. It’s not about silencing the voices we don’t like, it’s about letting people hear different opinions and decide for themselves.

Until the 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]

Standing for What You Believe In: The Trump, Musk, and Einstein Effect

Only On The Walters Post

These are my own thoughts from what I’ve seen and lived through. I’m sharing them to spark some thinking and honest conversation, not because I have all the answers.

It’s a strange world we live in when the folks who dare to say what’s on their mind become the villains, while those who tiptoe around the truth are treated like saints. Take Trump, Musk, and even Einstein, for example. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, these were (and are) men who stood for what they believed in. That alone is enough to make some people’s heads spin.

Now, I’m not saying they were perfect, as no one is, but here’s the thing: When was the last time you saw a politician, a business leader, or a scientist with that kind of backbone? These men spoke their minds, ruffled feathers, and, most importantly, made people think. And let’s be honest, thinking is not exactly encouraged these days.

Here in Canada and other parts of the world, a lot of folks are up in arms over these types of men. Not necessarily because of what they’ve done, but because they’ve forced people to confront realities they’d rather ignore. The truth is, we’ve been living in a bubble for so long, wrapped in a cozy blanket of controlled narratives, that when someone comes along and says, ‘”Hey, here’s what’s really going on!” it’s like tossing a rock through a barn window, it shatters everything you thought was solid.

The media, well they’ve been playing this game for years, twisting stories, pushing agendas, and making sure the ‘right’ people look good, while the ‘wrong’ ones get dragged through the mud. Trump and Musk, for all their faults, pulled back the curtain on that little magic trick. And what happened? The people who had been quietly suspecting something was off suddenly saw the whole picture. The media didn’t like that one bit.

Lets take Einstein, now there’s a different kind of troublemaker, not really. He didn’t deal with politics or business, but he still upset the apple cart in his own way. He took everything people thought they knew about the universe and said, “Actually, it’s not like that at all.” That’s the kind of boldness that changes the world, folks, and yet, like the others, he had his fair share of critics.

Sure, these men made mistakes. Big ones, even. But if we’re going to measure people by their flaws, then we’d better start tearing down statues of just about every historical figure out there. Actually they are now. Any way, the way I see it, their contributions outweigh their missteps, reason being they got people thinking, questioning, and, most importantly, waking up. And in a time when most folks are content to go along with whatever they’re told, that’s a rare and valuable thing.

So, let’s not pretend that all the fuss is really about their actions. It’s about the fact that they won’t sit down, shut up, and play nice. And that, my friends, is exactly why they matter.

Until the next time: Keep Your Minds Open & 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]

Sap’s Starting to Run and Birds Are Singing on March 9/2025

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Good Morning: You know there is one thing I have learned living where my wife and i do, is that” If you want to be a northerner, you better know that spring is just winter in disguise—until the black-flies show up.

Weather for Port Loring, ON
Current Conditions: Mostly cloudy, 21°F (-6°C)

This Week’s Forecast:

  • Sunday, March 09: Thick clouds with some snow flurries this afternoon, but don’t expect much to stick. High: 32°F (0°C), Low: 24°F (-5°C).
  • Monday, March 10: A cloudy day but warming up a bit. High: 43°F (6°C), Low: 35°F (2°C).
  • Tuesday, March 11: Some sun and clouds, a little breezy in the morning, but the chill’s easing up. High: 44°F (6°C), Low: 14°F (-10°C).
  • Wednesday, March 12: Another cloudy one. High: 38°F (3°C), Low: 23°F (-5°C).
  • Thursday, March 13: Might see a few morning flurries, but nothing to worry about. High: 42°F (6°C), Low: 22°F (-5°C).
  • Friday, March 14: Clouds in the morning, but the sun should peek out later. High: 46°F (8°C), Low: 34°F (1°C).
  • Saturday, March 15: Warmer, but still cloudy. High: 51°F (11°C), Low: 33°F (1°C).

What It Means for You:
Well, it means that winter’s loosening its grip, but it ain’t done yet, as we’ll start the week on the chilly side, with a few snowflakes here and there, but… by next weekend, it’s looking more like early spring.

I’ve farmed for a good number of years, and when you work the land, you learn to read the signs, like how the birds move, how the air smells before a change, even how the animals act. Between that and my own weather station, I can tell you this: Spring is on the way.

The warm southern winds are creeping in, pushing winter back where it belongs. We’ll still have some cold nights, but by the time next weekend rolls around, you’ll start to feel that shift in the air… the kind that makes you think about getting the garden ready or fixing up the fence line. So Hang in there folks.

Not too bad of a morning starting things off, we did have a skiff of snow through the night but not enough to warrant me to wake up my snowblower or bring out the snow shovels. Which is just fine with my wife and I.

Highway 522 does have some snowy patches throughout but with the temperatures rising it will be short lived, which again is fine with me as we are ready for some front porch sittin’.

Well, yesterday was quite the day, let me tell ya. I spent most of it out in the woodworking shop, and while that might not sound like much to some folks, it turned into a real adventure. See, I decided to pull down everything I had stored up high—you know, the stuff I don’t use all that often.

Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever watched any of them hoarder shows on TV, but once I got everything down where I could see it, I started to wonder if I might need to call for backup. The shop was packed full of things I didn’t even remember having. It was like opening a time capsule, only instead of finding buried treasure, I found a whole lot of stuff I should’ve dealt with years ago.

So, what does that mean? Well, it means I’ve got my work cut out for me over the next few days, sorting through it all. And once I’m done, I’m going to have one big sale to clear things out. If you’re in the market for some good old tools, odds and ends, or just feel like rummaging through a pile of forgotten treasures, keep an eye out—I’ll be putting up a sign out front when everything’s ready.

Might even throw in a free story or two with every purchase—just don’t expect any refunds on those!

So, what are you up to today, GW? Well, like I just said, my days are going to be full of sorting through things I didn’t even know I had. How I’m gonna go about it, well… that’s still up in the air. But one way or another, it’ll get done—same as everything else does, sooner or later.

With that, I’m off for my morning breakfast—the little woman’s got it ready and waiting, and I sure ain’t about to keep her waiting.

Until next time: Keep Your Minds Open & 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]