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  • Home
  • Writing Tips
  • Writing Samples
    • Personal Experience
    • Travel
    • Automotive
    • Historical Sketches
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
Derringer in desk drawer
Personal ExperienceWriting Samples

A Lifetime Lesson I Learned from a Toy Derringer

November 28, 2022Gordon Ficke

There are many memories I have that flood my brain from time to time, but none as poignant as the one I experienced in my Grade 3 class in 1961. That day forever defined how I viewed and respected other people’s property.

That day began as any other elementary school day with Mrs. Beet, our teacher conducting our class. When the bell rang for lunch, our books were put away in our desks and the students retrieved our lunches from the cloakroom. After eating lunch, most of the pupils left the classroom to go outside to play. Our teacher had left to join the other teachers in the staff room for lunch. As there were only a few kids left in our classroom, this opened up an opportunity that I could not pass up.

Earlier that morning, Wilfred, one of the students had been playing with a toy derringer pistol and wasn’t paying attention to Mrs. Beet. In response, she asked him to hand her the pistol and she placed it in the center drawer of her desk, indicating that she would return it to him later.

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Historical SketchesWriting Samples

Ostracized, Dispossessed and Uprooted…the fate of Japanese Canadians during World War II

August 27, 2021Gordon Ficke

Florence Kabayama, an 8-year-old Japanese-Canadian girl was living in the remote and isolated west coast British Columbian town of Ocean Falls. Life was good here during the late 1930s and early ‘40s. She lived in one of the homes amongst other Japanese families that formed their community, on the steep hillside across from the bay from the community’s chief employer, the pulp and paper mill. The Japanese families lived in their own area on the steep hillside while the Chinese community resided below them. “I remember the steep wooden steps that led up to our homes.” Florence recalled.

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Gordon and Trish's 30th Wedding Anniversary
Personal ExperienceWriting Samples

Are you thinking about throwing a Surprise Party for a relative or friend?

May 31, 2021Gordon Ficke

Here are some tips that will help you plan a successful event. “Look Jim!” I chuckled. “We don’t have to

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AutomotiveWriting Samples

Hank Funk’s ‘Back to the Future’ DeLorean is a Sight and Sound Sensation!

November 25, 2020Gordon Ficke

Initially, Back to the Future scriptwriters Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis, also film director, had planned to use a rounded

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AutomotiveWriting Samples

Cycle kart Racing is a Fun and Inexpensive Way to Access Motor sport!

May 30, 2020Gordon Ficke

I was completely caught off guard during the Summer of 2019 when I was exposed for the first time to

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Personal ExperienceWriting Samples

All aboard for the Polar Express!

December 6, 2017Gordon Ficke

Where can you go in public, dressed in your pajamas, and you are not frowned upon? Well, I know one

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Personal ExperienceWriting Samples

Riding in the back of Pickup Trucks

April 26, 2017Gordon Ficke

When our team touched down at the San Salvador airport in November 2008, a blast of furnace warm air greeted

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AutomotiveWriting Samples

New Adventures in our 1957 Plymouth Plaza

April 26, 2017Gordon Ficke

In the late summer or early fall of 1966 our 1957 Volkswagen bug broke down for the last and final

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AutomotiveWriting Samples

Cadillac’s Most Expensive Model for 1958!

April 18, 2017Gordon Ficke

I was absolutely flabbergasted! This was a dream come true for me. Right in front of me was # 170

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TravelWriting Samples

Salzburg, “The Hills are Alive”

April 10, 2017Gordon Ficke

When you mention Salzburg, Austria, it’s natural to think of the 1965 Oscar winning film “The Sound of Music” with

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About me

Artisan Publications

How to buy an article

Editors or Publishers wishing to purchase an article please e-mail a freelance writing agreement or contract to gficke@okanagan.net or mail to:

Gordon H. Ficke
3455 Gates Road,
Westbank, B.C.
V4T 1A2 Canada

Latest Articles

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April 10, 2017
Derringer in desk drawer

A Lifetime Lesson I Learned from a Toy Derringer

November 28, 2022

Cadillac’s Most Expensive Model for 1958!

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Finding a good wristwatch…

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