Jerry Iwanus, the Prairie Maritimer

Moving to a new community: What I needed to know

Reading time:10 mins read
Post published:2025-06-03
Post category:Other essays
Post author:Jerry Iwanus

Moving happens for many reasons: change of life, change of wife, change of scenery.

The authoritarian state: “What do you think of our current President?”

Reading time:5 mins read
Post published:2025-05-30
Post category:Friday pot pourri
Post author:Jerry Iwanus

I often see news articles discussing how American towns and states, particularly those along the border, are making extra pitches to tell Canadians how welcome they are. This is all well and good, BUT…

The truth about regret: You are what the results say you are

Reading time:7 mins read
Post published:2025-05-29
Post category:Memoir
Post author:Jerry Iwanus

Watching King Charles deliver the Throne Speech in Canada’s Parliament the other day reminded me of a brief moment in university when I thought I might want to be Prime Minister of this vast, complex, and sometimes ungovernable land.

Cultural cross-currents: What I now know in moving to Canada’s only bilingual province

Reading time:8 mins read
Post published:2025-05-23
Post category:Other essays
Post author:Jerry Iwanus

For a million reasons, we love it here in New Brunswick. But what we’ve learned about living in a bilingual province has been very telling, particularly on the cultural side.

Happy ending? My family dysfunction would make For better TV

Reading time:8 mins read
Post published:2025-05-14
Post category:Memoir
Post author:Jerry Iwanus

Everyone loves a happy ending, right? But real life doesn’t always come with a nice, tidy bow on top.

Holt gets passing grade for property assessment freeze – for now

Reading time:10 mins read
Post published:2025-05-10
Post category:New Brunswick
Post author:Jerry Iwanus

On May 6, the Holt Government announced a freeze on property assessments for 2026 as an interim measure, while continuing work on comprehensive property tax reform over a more extended period.

the author at the helm of his (former) boat on one of the rare occasions it was working

Three Important Building Blocks of a Fulfilling Retirement

Reading time:10 mins read
Post published:2025-04-29
Post category:Other essays
Post author:Jerry Iwanus

“Six months into retirement, they fall dead into a plateful of spaghetti.”

One Uncomfortable Truth My 18-Year-Old Self Needed to Hear

Reading time:9 mins read
Post published:2025-04-15
Post category:Memoir
Post author:Jerry Iwanus

I’m 66, and I like who I am. Or, more precisely, I like who I’ve become in this, my “last quarter.” But do I like who I was at 18? Not so much, especially in retrospect.