theborderline.ca

S3.E5: FINANCES w. Guest MONIQUE

The challenge of keeping one’s financial house in order is a common stress, be it at the national, corporate or individual level. Maria, with Fidgal, invite a financial expert, Monique, to share knowledge on the subject from a logical viewpoint. It may seem there isn’t a spiritual aspect to this but is there a way to not stress about finances while keeping the books balanced?

THE NEW NORMAL PODCAST – Maria Iuliano with Fidgal

Maria guides a successful business called Fidgal, named after Maria’s guardian angel. They met when Maria was 5 years old.

Maria is a Peace Therapist, graduated with Honours in Peace and Conflict Studies from Sault College of Applied Arts and Technology. With this knowledge, along with her expertise in the afterlife and her ability to see auras, Maria helps others find and create peace in their lives.

Visit: fidgal.com

“I have an abundance of money coming in from different sources.”

Date:7 April 2026 .

Brydon Clark discovered the art of leather goods for the equine industry much later in his life. As a photographer, Brydon already possessed the artistic leanings, but it was meeting the woman that would become his wife, an accomplished horse rider, that led him to the world of horses. Brydon agreed to an interview to explore the possibility of apprenticing in saddlery and from there he began to learn the craft. One job led to another and eventually, he dove into ownership of his own company.

Poseidon Atelier creates traditional English saddles and fine leather goods, combining expert saddle fitting with heirloom-quality craftsmanship.

At Poseidon Atelier, we understand that a proper saddle fitting is crucial for the comfort and performance of both horse and rider. Our experienced saddle fitter is dedicated to ensuring that your saddle fits perfectly, taking into account the unique anatomy and needs of your horse.

Whether you’re a seasoned equestrian or a beginner embarking on a new adventure, we will ensure an enhanced riding experience and optimize the harmony between you and your horse. From dressage to trail riding, we will cater to all disciplines and preferences.

A unique blend of soap, oils, beeswax and the wonderful properties of tea tree prepared in small batches in our studio located in Southern Ontario.

Date:3 April 2026 .

Lotus Wight sings and writes songs that sound like they are from times of old and his inimitable style has been talked about in the folk music world for years. Wight plays music in the key of Folk, Blues and Ragtime. Audiences are captivated by Lotus’ seamless movement from banjo to jaw-harp to guitar and his own invention, the contrabass harmoniphoneum. Wight has played all over the globe including the Shetland Islands, Turkey, Denmark, and the Netherlands.

Lotus was brought to Canada in a basket at the age of 18 months. At the age of eight years he professed his love for the 1920s era actress, Margaret DuMont, whom he had seen in the films of the Marx Brothers. When he learned of her death, he fell into a deep depression which could only be healed by listening to the music of that era.

Tin-pan alley, ragtime jazz and fiddle tunes from the American South were the balm for his young soul, and an important influence on his later music projects.

As a young adult, Lotus was engaged with an itinerant square-dance band and travelled throughout the United States for eight years, playing dance music and studying fiddle, banjo and songs of the American vernacular. It was during this time that Allison’s alter ego, Lotus Wight was conceived and born.

Original Works For Voice and Banjo – After two decades of reviving and revising old-time music, Lotus Wight released a collection of original works.
The collection spawns from a deeply personal well of songs which were inspired by multiple decades of old-time and folk music obsession that includes political commentary, old time hilarity, historic document and life experience.
Wight plays five string banjo, bass harmonica, harmonium and string bass on this amazing trove of original music.

released February 25, 2025

The recordings were made at Stove Studios with engineer and co-producer James Stephens in Chelsea, Quebec.
Art and layout by Dina Torrans. Photography by Bryan Reid.

Sam plays a Luke Mercier five-string early A.C. Fairbanks-inspired classic banjo with a Dobson style tone ring, and a Bill Rickard five-string tuba-phone banjo.

Visit: bandcamp.com/original-works-for-voice-and-banjo-by-lotus-wight

Running time: 68 minutes.

Date:2 April 2026 .

S3.E4: ARE WE SPOILED?

We live in a world of unprecedented convenience, seemingly everything at our fingertips. Advancements in technology have afforded us a lifestyle unlike any other in human history. Maria, with Fidgal, are prompted to investigate if the learning world inhabitants are benefiting from the progress. Has all the ease of comfort made us more productive? Or are we spoiled?

THE NEW NORMAL PODCAST – Maria Iuliano with Fidgal

Maria guides a successful business called Fidgal, named after Maria’s guardian angel. They met when Maria was 5 years old.

Maria is a Peace Therapist, graduated with Honours in Peace and Conflict Studies from Sault College of Applied Arts and Technology. With this knowledge, along with her expertise in the afterlife and her ability to see auras, Maria helps others find and create peace in their lives.

Visit: fidgal.com

“We are actively engaging in everyday adventures.”

Date:31 March 2026 .

Laura Cody – When the school literary magazine published my poem “Spiderwebs,” an exploration of stimulus-reaction psychology in one tight verse (…”Once I saw one by the stream, when I saw it I began to scream”…) Nurturing my interests in both the written word and the complexities of the mind, I proceeded to study English at the University of Notre Dame, then attend medical school at McGill University. These pursuits combined to provide exposure to a world of fascinating conditions as well as the vocabulary with which to describe them. (Imagine what I could have done with “Spiderwebs” had I known the word “arachnophobia” when I was eight?) After four years in Montreal, I came home to New York City and completed a residency in Psychiatry at Cornell Medical Center followed by a fellowship in Forensic Psychiatry at Cornell and Columbia. I currently practice in New York and, in case you are wondering, yes, my life is exactly like something out of the show Law and Order. 

Writing has continued around the edges of my career with publications in professional journals and some dabbling in fiction writing. The fiction-dabbling ramped up several notches in 2015 when I teamed up with my old med-school friend, orthopedic surgeon Graham Elder, to write The Epsilon Project, a series of books following five childhood friends dealing with the aftermath of a cataclysmic solar event. You could say we drew upon our specific areas of expertise to create a tension-filled, blood-streaked thriller of a story. (I really hope that someone, someday, says that.)

I live on Long Island with my wonderful husband and three amazing children. In my spare time, I can usually be found trotting around the neighborhood in running shoes, sautéing something on the stove, or sitting on my porch, glass of wine at my side, tapping on a keyboard while the sun sets or the rain falls.

Graham Elder – A suspenseful campfire story with kids on the edge of their seats. A story in the operating room to pass the time while closing an incision (remember Hawkeye from MASH?). A story at the dinner table with the family gathered or maybe a story out on the deck with my wife, Andrea, watching the sunset with a perfect glass of wine. Most of all though, it was the bedtime stories gently nudging my children, Emily and Charlie, off to sleep. These stories slowly morphed into a series of middle-grade illustrated books, and that’s when I really got the writing bug! 

I was born in Montreal and attended McGill University for thirteen years, completing degrees in Physiotherapy, Medicine and Orthopaedic Surgery. I joined the military (Naval Reserves) when I was 17 and very much enjoyed having a good chunk of my education (not to mention many exhilarating adventures on the high seas) paid for by the Canadian government. I now live with my wife and two kids in the small town of Sault Ste. Marie in Northern Ontario, cresting the shorelines of beautiful Lake Superior, where I run a busy surgical and academic practice with writing time divided between scientific publications and novels.

In 2015, I joined forces with my longtime medical school friend Laura Cody and TwoDocsWriting was born. A forensic psychiatrist writing with an orthopaedic surgeon, what devilish harm could come of that? It turns out that a lot of our characters would meet violently gory and psychologically disturbing deaths! No surprise. What else would you expect?

CALL GAME

Chief orthopedic resident, Dr. Rylan Fraser, knows she’s in for a bad on-call night when she arrives in the trauma bay to find a young father barely holding on after a major motorcycle accident. It’s the eve of Thanksgiving, so staffing is thin, but things slide further downhill when she learns her junior resident is AWOL and the blizzard raging outside has stranded her supervising attending in a roadside ditch. This means she must fly solo, breaking the established chain-of-command to perform a series of emergency operations she is almost-but-not-entirely qualified to do on her own. Just when she thinks things can’t get any worse, they do. In between surgeries, Rylan is summoned to the ward to check on her post-op patients—only to find one after the other dead in their beds.

With stress levels skyrocketing, Rylan teams up with the friendly (and handsome) on-call psychiatrist, Dr. Paul Bennet, to puzzle out what’s happening. Nothing is quite what it seems, though. As the night unfolds, Rylan and Paul are pulled deeper and deeper into a sick cat and mouse game in which their very own lives hang in the balance.

I give Call Game a solid 5 star review.

Date:31 March 2026 .

Andrea Guerriero has an ongoing love and appreciation for the Arts (music, art, plays, musicals, concerts, movies, museums, art galleries, etc.) and is in constant pursuit of new experiences.

On a family trip in 2015, Andrea found herself in Duluth, Minnesota and up close to the longest freighter that sails the Great Lakes, dubbed the Queen of the Lakes, the Paul R. Tregurtha. Her passion for photographing all vessels that pass through the Soo Locks took seed.

Since then, her adventurous attitude led to meetings with shipping officials and boating aficionados, eventually landing her on the American Spirit, aboard as a guest photographer, for a seven day rotation.

What once was a hobby has become a side career. Andrea has photos, videos and merchandise available for purchase, of all things related to Marine Traffic in the Great Lakes including Lakers, Tugs, U.S. Coast Guard, Canadian Coast Guard, cruise ships, etc..

Contact: facebook.com/DreDesignsGLMP

*Editor’s Note: This interview recorded in 2021.

 “I really don’t know why it is that all of us are committed to the sea, except I think it is because in addition to the fact that the sea changes and the light changes, and ships change, it is because we all came from the sea.”

Date:26 March 2026 .

Bella Blue creates symbolic surrealist paintings that weave together emotional expression, spirituality, and a profound homage to Mother Nature. Her most prized works are rendered in a monochromatic purple palette, where naked women entwined with leaves, trees, and flowers—ranging from dreamlike abstract blooms to vividly realistic roses—emerge in luminous, unified tones of violet. These rich variations of purple radiate life, emotion, and mystery, deepening the surreal atmosphere of her imagery.

Through her artistic practice, Bella explores the unfiltered essence of human emotion and spiritual connection, using surreal symbolism drawn from the natural world. The female nude stands as a powerful archetype of vulnerability, strength, rebirth, and oneness with the earth. These figures emerge from or dissolve into foliage and flora, reflecting how inner emotional landscapes echo the cycles of nature: growth, decay, blossoming, and renewal. Leaves and trees symbolize rooted resilience and the passage of time, while flowers—whether abstracted into otherworldly patterns or depicted as lush roses—evoke fragility, beauty, passion, and the sacred feminine. Her bold, radiant palettes intensify this energy, transforming personal introspection into a universal celebration of vitality and the spiritual threads that connect humanity to the planet.

Residing in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Bella draws constant inspiration from the rugged beauty of Northern Ontario’s forests, lakes, and dramatic seasonal shifts—the solitary winters and explosive summers that cultivate a deep sense of place and impermanence. For half the year she travels to Barrie, Ontario, where she works as a skydiving coach—an experience of freefall, adrenaline, and surrender to boundless skies that mirrors the liberation and trust she seeks to capture on canvas. These dual realms—grounded earth and limitless air—infuse her compositions with tension and harmony, inviting viewers to confront their own emotions, reconnect with nature’s wisdom, and recognize the spiritual poetry woven into the everyday.

Bella’s body of work serves as both an ode to Mother Nature and a personal excavation of the soul: a reminder that humanity is not separate from the living world, but intricately woven into its tapestry. Through surreal distortion and radiant colour, she evokes wonder, healing, and a quiet awakening to the sacred present in all things.

Date:25 March 2026 .

S3.E3: SERIAL KILLERS

Human brains are programmed to pay attention to potential danger and that partly explains our fascination with horror. It is why we seek an adrenaline rush from within a safe place. To make sense of their eventual actions, Maria, with Fidgal, mine the depths of a serial killer’s spirit at work. Are there outward signs that one can detect from an otherwise seemingly normal appearance?

THE NEW NORMAL PODCAST – Maria Iuliano with Fidgal

Maria guides a successful business called Fidgal, named after Maria’s guardian angel. They met when Maria was 5 years old.

Maria is a Peace Therapist, graduated with Honours in Peace and Conflict Studies from Sault College of Applied Arts and Technology. With this knowledge, along with her expertise in the afterlife and her ability to see auras, Maria helps others find and create peace in their lives.

Visit: fidgal.com

“I am safe. I focus on the deep side while balancing the ego side.”

Date:24 March 2026 .

S3.E2: RAISING A CHILD

There is no greater responsibility on this planet than to raise a child. We are all to varying degrees joined in the challenges of child raising. Maria, with Fidgal, get deep into a discussion on how to learn from a child and what to teach them, so that they grow into mature adults. And why is it possible the child may be and grow into nothing like their parents?

THE NEW NORMAL PODCAST – Maria Iuliano with Fidgal

Maria guides a successful business called Fidgal, named after Maria’s guardian angel. They met when Maria was 5 years old.

Maria is a Peace Therapist, graduated with Honours in Peace and Conflict Studies from Sault College of Applied Arts and Technology. With this knowledge, along with her expertise in the afterlife and her ability to see auras, Maria helps others find and create peace in their lives.

Visit: fidgal.com

“I believe in my children and accept them for who they are and who they are becoming.”

Date:17 March 2026 .

Randy Russon has released his first book, Tales Of An Old Hockey Writer. Randy is a long-time sportswriter and sportscaster in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and currently with Sault This Week as its sports editor. His first job was with CKCY 920 Radio, hired by then station director, Paul Leonard, in the mid 1970s. That is its own story.

Randy’s knowledge of the Sault Ste. Marie hockey scene and its history is unparalleled, and his memory quasi-impeccable.

ONE NIGHT IN WINDSOR (an excerpt from Tales Of An Old Hockey Writer by Randy Russon)

If I had a dollar for every tale that I could recant from days and nights and months and years spent in Windsor, I would be able to increase my net worth by at least a thousand bucks. But this one, as it relates to hockey, is one of my all time favourites.

It was a Thursday night in Windsor early during the 1975-1976 season — my first year in the media — and the Spitfires had just finished playing an Ontario Hockey League game against the Soo Greyhounds. I had hitched a ride on the team bus from Sault Ste. Marie to Windsor with the intention of staying in town for a few days after the game. I had a girlfriend in Windsor at the time and hadn’t seen her since the summer and was looking forward to taking her to venerable Windsor Arena for the game — and out for a few drinks after.

So, after the game, it was to — where else — my uncle Steve’s bar, the Grand Tavern on Howard Ave., for a few beers. Which, of course, were followed by a few more. After several glasses of Old Vienna on tap and a nice visit with my uncle, last call came and went and we left the bar. We were hungry so we headed over to nearby Ing’s Restaurant on Goyeau St. for some of Windsor’s best Chinese food. Afterwards, we walked back to where the Greyhounds were staying downtown, at the Viscount Hotel on Ouelette St., since I had a room there for the night.

Avoiding the crowded hotel lobby elevator — it was about 3:00 a.m. or so — we decided to take the stairs up to my room. We had just reached the second or third flight of stairs when we suddenly came face to face with Muzz MacPherson, who was the head coach of the Greyhounds, in the stair well. Muzz looked a bit startled when he first saw us but quickly regained his bravado and motioned for us to go on ahead. Which was easier said than done.

That is because, as Muzz was standing in front of us with his suit pants in disarray, there was a rather large woman in front of him, performing an act of, well, you know. Funny thing was, the woman paid no heed to us and just continued to do what she was in the process of doing. As for us, as we resumed our jaunt up the stairs, I dared take a glance back at Muzz. He just smiled and winked at me, showing absolutely no embarrassment at being caught in the act.

At any rate, without going into further detail from the night, I ended up seeing Muzz in the hotel lobby the next day as the Greyhounds were getting ready to board the team bus for London, where they were to play the Knights that evening.

And Muzz mentioned absolutely nothing from the events of the previous night except to look me straight in the eyes and say, “Remember kid, what happens on the road stays on the road.” Then he winked his trademark wink at me, chuckled out loud, and boarded the bus from Windsor to London.

There was, and always will be, only one Muzz.

 For mature audiences.

Date:17 March 2026 .