John Oliver Smith
Bio
Baby, son, brother, child, pupil, athlete, collector, farmer, photographer, player, uncle, coach, husband, student, writer, teacher, father, science guy, fan, grandpa, comedian, traveler, chef, story-teller, driver, gardener, regular guy!!!
Achievements (1)
Stories (121)
Filter by community
Getting Serious About Comedy (Part I). Top Story - January 2026.
If I were asked to remark on my life and the childhood that paved some road leading me to this point, I would have to say something about all the funny people who surrounded me for the last 26,872 days (and counting). Somewhere along that road, I became a big fan of laughter and the comedy that spawns it – and, I mean not only my own laughter, but the laughter of others, some of which I have actually been responsible for inducing.
By John Oliver Smith4 days ago in Humor
The Year the Toronto Blue Jays (Almost) Won the World Series
We are family!! A full 48 hours has passed since the third out in the bottom of the eleventh inning of game seven in the 2025 World Series of baseball between the heavily favored Los Angeles Dodgers and our favourite Toronto Blue Jays. The game spelled the end of the Blue Jays magical 2025 Major League Baseball season. As an aside, that third out also put an end to the Los Angeles Dodger’s season, and an end to the Major League baseball season in general. That "end" however, did mark the beginning of some bright things to come in future editions of the Toronto Blue Jays.
By John Oliver Smith2 months ago in Unbalanced
Carol and Harry Go to the Cinema
It was a cold and rainy evening in Vancouver – the perfect kind of night for just staying home and nursing a cup of hot chocolate with one’s slippered feet up on a soft, cozy ottoman in front of a crackling fireplace or watching a Hallmark Christmas television show or something. But, even though the weather outside was bordering on frightful, Harry suggested to his partner-in-sublime, Carol, that perhaps they should venture out into this miserable nocturne for a hardy adventure and head to a movie at the cinema. Surprisingly, Carol thought the suggestion to be of honor and heart and thus she agreed. So then – a movie it was to be.
By John Oliver Smithabout a year ago in Humor
Turtle Crossing
Bob and Marg were two medium-sized Red-eared turtles. The terrarium they used to live in, was pushed off the table by the two boys, during an impromptu hockey game at the Mackenzie house, one night when the parents were out partying and the baby-sitter was making out with her boyfriend in the Rec-Room in the basement. They somehow made it out of the house and were now living in the wooden foundation of the mailbox located on the front lawn near the curb of 85 Minto Place in suburban Providence, Rhode Island. One day they decided, as only turtles can, that they should make a FAST (and I use that term somewhat loosely) break for the yard across the street. This is the story of their adventure.
By John Oliver Smith2 years ago in Petlife
Lovin’ the PWHL. Top Story - March 2024.
The inaugural season for professional women’s hockey is well underway and I, like many North American sports enthusiasts, have cottoned on to the excitement of the games and the fanfare. Most of the women playing are relatively well-known through previous media exposure during Olympic games, World Championships and Rivalry matches between Canada and the United States. Yesterday, March 8, being International Women’s Day, I decided that I would pay tribute to the women of the world in my own little sports-minded way, and watch a PWHL game between the teams from Toronto and Montreal. Casually observing the new teams since the start of the season, I had suspected that the Women’s league was somehow different from the NHL and other men’s hockey leagues around the world. Sometimes these differences don’t show up during the Olympic games or World Championships because of the media focus on winning gold medals and the like. However, during a regular season hockey game, be it a men’s game or a women’s game, one gets a chance to really notice what the respective games are all about. I would therefore like to weigh in on what have formerly been suspicions but now are being seen as true differences between men’s and women’s professional hockey.
By John Oliver Smith2 years ago in Unbalanced
Roughriders on a Plane
Two of the earliest sports heroes in my life, were members of the Saskatchewan Roughriders - a team in the Canadian Football League since 1910. The first, George Reed, was a young American fullback with the Washington State Cougars, who, in 1963, came north to play professional football in Canada. As luck would have it, Ron Lancaster (a second hero of mine), made the move from the Ottawa Roughriders to Saskatchewan at roughly the same time. The rest was history. The Roughriders had a lot of successful seasons starting that year and on into the next decade. Reed and Lancaster were two of the main reasons why the team enjoyed such success and why they won the Grey Cup in 1966. Every kid in Saskatchewan wanted to be either #23 (Ron Lancaster) or #34 (George Reed). They were both so much bigger than our own tiny little lives at the time.
By John Oliver Smith3 years ago in Unbalanced
