

Long Haulin’
So when we went back a year in time to cave-living with the recent baffling shutdown, Venue’s live experiences (and every church in the province) were deemed both unsanitary, non-essential and unconstitutional by the powers that be, while liquor stores and the ever present Walmart, which hold people’s bodies, souls and minds together so well remain open, the Kope family decided to go camping for … Continue reading Long Haulin’

Orphan Horse
My wife has a green thumb. She loves spending an afternoon outside grubbing around in the dirt and comes in with wild hair, tired but happy. I hate getting my hands dirty, which is a bit odd as I had a life in the trades for quite some time. But when my hands get dirty it irritates me, and when I decide something bothers me it really … Continue reading Orphan Horse

Irish Horse Trader
I like buying and selling stuff. The growing number of motorcycle paraphernalia in our garage was beginning to alarm Erin, but I enjoy tinkering with things. Once every week I take a look around with my Richard Kope (dad) practicality lenses and think: “I should sell something.”So I post ads on Kijiji and FB, ask more than what I paid, end the ad with “Make me an … Continue reading Irish Horse Trader

Who Runs the World?
So my wife Erin had a Venue women’s zoom call on the topic of Warrior Women and decided some of the gals should go tribal and paint their faces for it. I came home from something and Erin materializes in front of me with wild hair, face painted all crazy, and a hunting gleam in her eye. It was pretty hot, but a little scary. Also she … Continue reading Who Runs the World?

The Devil Cat
Someone in my home found the devil cat we had in the basement (for scaring children to death maybe?) and left it on the kitchen floor for the better part of a week. Every time I walked in there I’d jump, but I was too afraid to touch it. It’s the size of a normal cat, probably has real cat fur and makes creepy noises and moves … Continue reading The Devil Cat

Lloyd the Fish
Sunday morning before church my wife told me “Lloyd the fish is dead”. Another fish funeral with an iPhone playing a bagpipe rendition of Amazing Grace on the funeral march to its watery grave with the family in tow…My wife loves animals and has no problem whatsoever explaining that she likes them more than people. Not that she doesn’t like people, but she likes animals even … Continue reading Lloyd the Fish

My First Bike
As hot as my wife Erin riding my Diesel Ducati would be, she has to appreciate baby steps. My first bike was a Suzuki GS400 and it was not a hot rod. I’d had a little 50cc scooter I paid $500 for and been riding for a couple years in town and on secondary roads by the time I turned sixteen and got my Class 5 … Continue reading My First Bike

Worth the Fight
A good marriage is worth the fight. I’ll preface this with the thought that of all the readers of this article, I would suspect that yours truly has had maybe more exposure than most to sheer numbers of marriages and marriage issues simply because of my role as a pastor. When marriages go south for people in the faith community (or any community), we are often the … Continue reading Worth the Fight

Friends with Bikes
I’m a salesman. Whatever I’m into I want you to be into too because I’m into sharing things that are fun. Now, to be clear I’m a man who does not like to share everything (food belongs to me and me alone), but I share what I’m passionate about. When Erin and I began dating I’d ask her “Do you want some Dr Pepper? Do you want some … Continue reading Friends with Bikes

Expensive Haircut
Ok so this isn’t really about haircuts being expensive but rather how expensive my Ducati Diesel is getting…I sold my red Yamaha MT09 in the summer, which cost me a grand total of one back tire, and picked up a 2013 special edition Ducati Diesel 20th Anniversary Monster. Why? Because I really REALLY needed it after I saw it. It looks like something out of WW2. I … Continue reading Expensive Haircut