A beautiful German Shepherd graces our front cover this time around, and I got to write the story that goes along with that cover. A fellow dog lover, I was very excited to interview volunteers from the Canadian Search Dog Association (CSDA) and find out a little more about the local organization. The CSDA is responsible for finding people and evidence during a search when outside organizations such as the city police or the RCMP ask for assistance.

What do you mean there’s nothing to do in Lethbridge? Sixteen years a Lethbridge resident, and I hear disparaged bellyaching by bored citizens and visitors on a regular basis. Sure, Lethbridge is no Disneyland; we have no seaside beachfront resorts or all-night all-you-can-eat Vegas style casinos, but you can’t tell me there’s nothing to do in Lethbridge. In fact, I’m not even sure if those who complain of boredom are just too lazy to pick up a paper (most of which come free to the door) or get off the couch in the first place.

I have to admit, several years ago, while I was a student at the U of L, it was a challenge finding a bar with live music every weekend. Fast-forward 10 years later and our bars (some new and some old) have live music flowing into the streets. It’s only going to get better.

140 characters in a printed message are just not enough. Honestly, I have seen more characters than that killed on a single season of Battlestar Galactica. How is one supposed to truly express their genuine thoughts, let alone a descriptive detail of their innermost feelings, in a mere 140 characters? Note that we are over 150 characters already.

This is what bugs me about all the Facebooking and Twittering on iPhones and Blackberries, all the instant message technology around me that encourages bite-sized communication with a maximum limit of 140 characters. Sometimes I just want to write a letter–a letter that lets it all go and lets it all out–and that can take whole paragraphs. That is what a letter is for after all isn’t it? Letting?