Rose's Cantina

In the world of politics, there are dolphins and there are sharks. Tex Enemark was a dolphin. Not that Tex wasn't above wielding a sharp elbow now and then. Every dolphin learns that the ocean is full of other bad fish who would happily filet the likes of him for dinner. But he knew the secret of being a successful dolphin. He learned to swim with sharks. And he did so with aplomb. He used his affable nature to disarm. He cajoled. He wined. He dined. He laughed, and laughed and laughed. Because Tex had one rare piece in his DNA often even missing in dolphins. He was pure of heart. A golden child with hair to match, a big man with hard hands who enjoyed sinking ships in the waters around British Columbia, to attract marine life, and allow grown up boys like him to dive around looking at stuff like a character in a Stephen King novel, pretending to be in search of doubloons. I'm sure he was laughing through his pain at the comments when he first posted the...

photo courtesy of Marnie Portugaise For John and Cindy Simpson, time stands still. Certainly, there have been good times. The birth of grandchildren and a great-grandchild. A puppy named Gypsy who has finally grown into her ears. Love continues to swirl around them, like a warm Caribbean breeze. But it doesn't matter. None of it matters as much as it would in a normal family. The only thing that matters is finding out what happened to their cherished daughter Ashley Marie who disappeared in April 2016. Ashley is presumed murdered. Her body has never been found, and no one has been charged. While many people in Salmon Arm believe they know who took her life, the RCMP continue to say, at least publicly, that there are no leads in the case. Last year, her driver's licence was found in a sanitation truck a 1,000 miles away from where she disappeared. Aside from that, nothing. As winter turns to spring, John remains hopeful that a drone team will find the remains...