As a young boy growing up there was always that one day each year that I looked forward to. It's not as though I was unlike the other kids my age, but for me, Christmas brought more than delicious foods and great times spent with the family–it also brought presents.

Oh the sleepless nights that were had on December 24 every year, and the many mornings that just couldn't come fast enough. Those were the times!

The feeling of joy and excitement on that Christmas morning as I would open each of my presents was untouched. Each present, it seemed, was picked with me in mind even if I didn't ask for them.

Recently, I had the opportunity to write a story about the Angel Tree program here in Lethbridge. The premise is simple: Angel Trees are located around the city and are adorned with cards that tell you the age and gender of a person in need of a Christmas present. You pick up the card, buy a present for the person on the card, and on Christmas morning that present appears under the Christmas tree of that individual.

The irony here, is that recently I was speaking to my mom about writing this story and she informed me that when I was a kid, that's how I received my presents at Christmas. The beautiful thing is that I had absolutely no idea. The presents meant so much to me and gave me so much joy that I would encourage everyone to take part in this program.

There's still time!

I love the look of pleasant surprise or fascination when I talk about my articles with coworkers, friends and family, who never knew the topics I am writing about existed. I am often naively astonished when our Managing Editor, Jenn, sends me my next assignment and I learn about a new program, event, club or lifestyle I never knew about in our community. There’s a never-ending supply of intriguing subject matter in Southern Alberta, and it never ceases to amaze me that there’s always something new happening.

The word “reality” is very subjective; and when it comes to reality television, reality is truly in the eye of the producer. As I was researching my latest story on Terry Grant, aka, Mantracker, for Lethbridge living’s Sept./Oct. edition, I discovered a world of reality TV fanatics, posting their opinions online, making revelations about the episodes, and declaring the show a complete and utter fake. Fake? Hardly. Real? Debatable. Entertaining TV? Certainly.