Joe Banks on the morphing of language between generations, and how the current elevation of superlatives has pushed conversation into a new orbit.
Joe Banks
Time to ship out, son
Why, within a generation, have so many young men been so willing to do so little to leave home, wonders Joe Banks.
An ode to potty training
A child’s first successful bowel movement is surely among life’s most underrated joys, writes Joe Banks.
First comes love, then the baby carriage, then (maybe?) the wedding
Joe Banks reflects on how more couples are focusing on parenting rather than rushing marriage.
‘83 years of a life so well and lovingly lived’
Joe Banks remembers his beloved, spirited mother and the joy she derived from “little people.” Children and laughter: two elements of a life lived that my mother, Jacqueline Leclerc Banks, so much embraced that rare are the photos taken over […]
We must stop over-regulating fun
Three kids — ages 12 or 13, two boys and a girl — recently rode bikes by our house, laughing and talking. It’s a scene repeated in this city in countless neighbourhoods among boys and girls of a strata of […]
The recipe for a lasting marriage? Honesty, laughter and embracing flaws
I’m writing this on the day of our 32nd wedding anniversary. It’s not a particularly special year, except it occurred to me this morning, as I kissed my bride, that fewer and fewer of our contemporaries, friends and acquaintances are doing the same. (Marking […]
It takes a village to teach sex ed
Joe Banks recalls his ‘funny, mysterious and sometimes bizarre’ journey to the truth about sex There is nothing — I repeat, nothing — in the province’s updated health and sexuality curriculum that will stop any 14-year-old boy from snortlaughing from their seats during the […]
Memories of (not-so-great) years past
Overbearing, cussing dads and tired, put-upon moms were a hallmark of the ’60s, writes Joe Banks. Thankfully, he says, weíve come a long way since then – except when it comes to fashion. They say that everything old becomes new […]