Jam Gen Pets: Catmail

“Oof,” I hear myself exhale as I startle awake to an abrupt expulsion of air from my lungs. Our cat… Read more Jam Gen Pets: Catmail

Jam Gen Memoir: The Beginning of the War

In 1939, my father was living in a small village in Upper Silesia, a part of Germany that was ceded… Read more Jam Gen Memoir: The Beginning of the War

I stand before my washing machine, contemplating the dirty laundry for the latest load. How many loads have I done… Read more Jam Gen Fun: An Archeological Guide to Laundry

My father arrived in Canada in January 1957. He had been offered a two-year contract, working for a company in… Read more Jam Gen Memoir: Christmas and New Year’s 1960-61

After my parents moved from St. John’s, Newfoundland to Toronto in July 2009, my father was quite lonely. I only… Read more Jam Gen Memoir: In My Father’s Words

My mother quit smoking on October 16, 1977. I know this date precisely because it was such a momentous event… Read more Jam Gen Love: The Smoking Account

(As dictated to Marina) My name isn’t actually Riley, but it might as well be. After all, I live the… Read more Jam Gen Pets: The Life of Riley

Even in the good years, getting through a trip around the sun can feel like a Herculean effort. Each lunar… Read more Jam Gen Calendar: A Guided Tour Around the Sun

I look at my mother sitting across from me in her wheelchair, a wheeled hospital-style overbed table situated between us.… Read more Jam Gen Health: A Visit with My Mother

Lights. Camera. Action! My sister and I knew the drill by now: come home from the Christmas Eve service, take… Read more Jam Gen Family: Memories of Christmases Past