Yesterday I came down with what I have dubbed ‘the COVID blues’. This ailment presented itself as a kind of hopeless melancholy coupled with floating anxiety and restlessness. At the same time, I was riddled with guilt. What was the matter with me? My husband and I have the basic necessities of life. We are … More The COVID Blues
In my new book, Geckos & Guns: The Pakistan Years (experiencing some delays; coming soon I promise) I talk about how our family left Canada for Pakistan during the first Gulf War. When we arrived in Islamabad tensions were running high. Many expats had been evacuated and those that stayed were told to ‘shelter in … More School Days Re-imagined
An excerpt from Geckos & Guns: The Pakistan Years, that describes some of our early frustrations and culture shock. … More Park Road, Islamabad–the Telephone
Included in Geckos & Guns: The Pakistan Years, are some compelling true stories told by my expat friends. Unfortunately, a few of those stories didn’t make it into the book. The following is a memory written by my husband, Wayne Bazant. … More The Ministry of Time
Here’s a little something I wrote that didn’t make it into my new book, Geckos & Guns: The Pakistan Years, reflecting on what the years in Pakistan meant to me as a wife and mother and to our family as a whole. Our family moved to Pakistan in early 1991. This was not a scenario … More A New Chapter
Very soon my new book ‘Geckos & Guns: The Pakistan Years’ will be available at Booklocker.com and at online retailers. While you are waiting in anticipation, I would like to relate (in a series of blogs) some special experiences that didn’t make it into the book. The featured image for this blog post is the … More Call to Prayer
Geckos & Guns: The Pakistan Years is the latest installment of Sharon Bazant’s riveting travel memoirs. Following on the heels of her 2019, Nine Years in Bangkok: Lessons Learned, this new title Geckos & Guns tells of the time before Bangkok. It is a prequel that follows the first impulses of the Bazant family to … More Coming Soon
This morning I watched a clip of the President of the United States bullying his way through another public diatribe. A crowd of his supporters was jeering, chanting, and risking their health during the COVID pandemic just to be a part of his blood sport. It’s one thing to be a bully. We have all … More Are We Being Seduced by Bullies?
(I wrote this story almost exactly a year ago. It seems appropriate to share it on my blog as the leaves once again start to fall. The boys are in Grade Three now and thriving.) My two oldest grandsons started Grade Two this autumn, photographed on that first day of school resplendent in their new … More The Perils of Second Grade
The world went quiet. Everything stopped. We isolated. No friends, no neighbours, no dancing, no grandchildren, no meetings, no appointments. Only groceries and pharmacies. Twenty-four hours a day, 7 days a week—just here. I wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote every day. Watched TV at night. Masked outings. Sanitized and washed again and again. … More Six Months and Counting
