stories | Silver Magazine

Cover Story

Call of Destiny

Veteran actor R.H. Thomson is also an athlete, an activist, and a storyteller. He has many projects on the go. Don’t get in his way. Canadian actor R.H. Thomson has the energy of someone much younger. Good thing, because he is a man on a mission, or rather, multiple missions. At age 75, his acting career remains in high gear and he continues to head “The World Remembers,” an international not-for-profit dedicated to pointing out the huge cost of war. As a sideline, he spent six years on and off writing By the Ghost Light, a memoir about his life and career, which weaves back over several generations. Robert Holmes Thomson always had a lot of energy. Growing up in Richmond Hill, Ontario, he and his friends were outdoors in all seasons. The family had a cottage in northern Ontario where the kids were left alone to roam in the

David Holt October 27, 2023

Featured

Three A.M.

When I wake up at three in the morning it’s all I can do to not phone Harry. Hello, he’d say as if he were trying to fog up the screen. I wouldn’t say, it’s me or guess who right away like before. I’d say, it’s Sherry – a glitch between the Rs then silence like I’d put the phone in my mouth – then I’d say, it’s me as if I’d swallowed it. At three in the morning I think he would prefer to go back to sleep. Harry used to tell me his dreams and I know listening to people’s dreams can be like listening to a tap drip but not Harry’s. He’d go slow and start with something you’d latch onto almost involuntarily and he’d place a picture in your head like a paint-by-number, all white and portioned out. Then he’d say something like a tiger was in my

Sherry Cassells June 22, 2022

Longevity

Fighting the good fight: Sara Part 2

“We’ve got something,” I said to Spriggs. I pulled back and filed in behind the vehicle. I grabbed the police radio, got a hold of the telecoms operator and requested a check on his Ontario licence plate. Within fifteen to twenty seconds, our telecommunications operator Eric Simms was on the other end. “Cst. Roy, are you 10-12?” he asked. He was asking if there were any unauthorized listeners. “Negative,” I responded. Are you alone?” Simms asked. “No, Spriggs is with me,” I responded. Then telecoms operator Eric Simms advised me of a hit on the vehicle that we were following. He said the car was registered to a Marc Habib Eghbal and that there was an international fugitive arrest warrant out on Eghbal for kidnapping. He advised us to be on the lookout for a six-year-old child by the name of Sara Brin. Then I hear Simms giving me the

Patrick Roy November 29, 2021

Longevity

Canadian Fiction: Tommy tomorrow

I have so many pretend situations going on you wouldn’t believe it. Documents open on my desktop that say things like Uncle Norm wasn’t Ted’s real father and everybody knew it andPenny liked to say that I saved her life that time when all I did was tell her to go home and When we didn’t have much, Carrie would throw a couple of coffee beans on the stove. The smoke would coil around the room and I’d catch a whiff and smile at her and she’d pretend not to notice. She’d fry one piece of bacon every day so the kids would wake up and come into the kitchen excited. I don’t think they noticed they only got a third of a piece each. That’s not what was important. It was all about hope, Carrie said. Getting out of bed happy, with expectations. I worked at Safeway and brought dinner home every

Sherry Cassells November 28, 2021

Longevity

Fiction Short: Trixie

Aunt Trixie borrowed me on Saturdays. She could have asked for Helen who was prettier, Mary who was nicer, or even Carol who everybody said was a hoot. But she picked me. You are going out with your Aunt Trixie today June, my mother said that first time, she will pick you up at noon. I couldn’t eat any more. I passed my toast to Carol who dipped its edges in ketchup while I watched not exactly in horror but in something new. It was only ten after nine. I tried reading but my eyes kept going through the window. I tried corking but same thing. I took a bath but couldn’t linger. Finally I started dusting and tidying and sweeping and then before I knew it I was washing the floors and then the stairs and the bedrooms and the bathroom and all the glass and mirrors. I took the

Sherry Cassells November 14, 2021

Longevity

My grandmothers journey

Aggie Missaghian’s faith – in her family, her religion and in herself – carried her from Iran to PEI. It’s February 1984. A family of five stands waiting at the Charlottetown airport with two trolley loads of suitcases – torn and patched in places and tied together with rope to keep them from falling apart. The family is warmly greeted by several locals and three cars. It’s their first day in Canada. My grandmother, Aghdas (Aggie) Missaghian, nee Sobhani, was born in Tehran, Iran in 1943. She grew up in Gonbad city within the province of Tehran and was raised as a Baha’i. The Baha’i Faith is based on unity – the oneness of God, the oneness of religion, and the oneness of humanity. Baha’is believe it their mission to bring harmony and unity to the world through God and His love. The Faith was established in 1863 by Baháʼu’lláh.

Yasmin Missaghian March 12, 2021