Andrew Jackson looked up from the newspaper he was reading at the kitchen table. “Did you hear that?” he said. “Hear what?” Andrew’s wife Rose did not look up from the pot she was stirring at the stove. “That noise,” said Andrew. “It was like a thump. Or a crunch. You didn’t hear it?” “No
You can’t beat a good soup
The Jacksons from the November 16, 2017 issue of the Manitoba Co-operator
Staying married, in spite of it all
The Jacksons from the November 2, 2017 issue of the Manitoba Co-operator
Good morning Dad.” Jennifer Jackson ran her fingers through her tousled hair, as she sat down in the chair across the sunroom from her father. Andrew folded up the section of newspaper he had been reading and let it fall to the floor beside his chair. “And good morning to you,” he responded. “How did
The lucky lives we lead
The Jacksons from the September 21, 2017 issue of the Manitoba Co-operator
Andrew Jackson dropped his newspaper to the floor beside his chair and sat for a moment staring out of the glass walls of the sunroom. Rain fell steadily outside and gusts of wind set the oak trees swaying in the backyard. A single yellowing leaf let go of its hold on a branch and was
The most interesting people at the beach
The Jacksons from the September 7, 2017 issue of the Manitoba Co-operator
Look Mom!” Little Allison Jackson pointed excitedly out across the water. The large bird she was pointing at glided silently through the air, so low above the water, that the black wingtip feathers almost skimmed the glassy smooth surface of the lake. “It’s a pemmican!” Allison’s mother, Jackie, laughed, as did her grandmother Rose who
An usher’s election stirs conversation
The Jacksons from the August 24, 2017 issue of the Manitoba Co-operator
Andrew Jackson ambled up the street in the direction of the café, his boot heels clicking lazily on the hard concrete sidewalk, his old Blue Bomber cap pulled down to shade his eyes from the hot Saturday morning sun. The thermometer outside the kitchen window had said it was 24° when he left the house
The longest day of the year comes, and goes
The Jacksons from the June 29, 2017 issue of the Manitoba Co-operator
Rose Jackson looked up from her section of the newspaper and turned her head to peer out of the kitchen window. “Well, what do you know,” she said. “It’s the longest day of the year. Already.” Andrew looked up from the sports section and followed his wife’s gaze. “Winter is coming,” he said. “No no
A Father’s Day meeting on the front lawn
The Jacksons from the June 15, 2017 issue of the Manitoba Co-operator
I’d like to call this meeting to order. Does everybody have a beer?” Randy Jackson looked around at the people gathered on the front lawn of the Jackson homestead. It was not a large crowd. Aside from Randy and his wife Jackie, there were only Brady, with his wife Amanda holding baby Michaela, and Jennifer
The good old days of bottled soda
The Jacksons from the June 1, 2017 issue of the Manitoba Co-operator
Rose Jackson pulled the brim of her hat down to shield her eyes from the bright morning sun. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the bright-orange flash of an oriole flitting from tree to tree in the neighbour’s yard as she walked by. Something glinted on the sidewalk by her feet and
Breakfast in bed on Mother’s Day
The Jacksons from the May 18, 2017 issue of the Manitoba Co-operator
Rose Jackson opened one eye then closed it again as a bright early-morning sunbeam angled in through the window. “Who opened the curtains?” she wondered to herself. She opened her eye again more slowly as she became aware of the pleasant aroma of coffee that seemed to be wafting in from outside. As things came
What Trump wants from Canada
The Jacksons from the May 4, 2017 issue of the Manitoba Co-operator
The thing,” Grant Toews was saying, as Andrew Jackson sat down in his usual chair at the window table in the café and set his coffee cup down before reaching for the cream, “is that if Donald Trump wants Canadian softwood lumber, he can get Canadian softwood lumber. At any price he wants. He has
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
