Category - People Props

I have gone through some photo albums in isolation and have decided that I am going to post some memories here.

I found this beauty from Ponch’s stag. I can’t even tell you the year but I do remember starting this night with BBQ, beers, and poker with friends. The rest is a little blurry.

From what I recall Drew chartered a bus (driven by his aunt) that picked us up at Ponch’s house. She took us on a bar tour and we able to drink on the bus and it was a gong show. I mean music, and guys dancing and yelling. Ponch was wearing some rubber breasts on top of his shirt. That kind of night.

This picture was taken at a bar downtown somewhere. I don’t know which one but at the time there was a salsa bar on the second floor. I know this because Tyler and I went up there and I remember dancing with a group of people up there and getting unnaturally sweaty.

I love this picture because:

• Porter looks like Steve Fewster was there.
• My “I love Humpday” shirt still fit.
• I had a Brahama in my hand.
• Timmy G, Gilles, Ponch, Tyler, Porter look as drunk as I do.
• Tyler made it to this particular stop.

The last stop of the night was Teasers and I don’t remember much other than returning to the bus at closing time and realizing Tyler never even got off the bus. There he was sleeping in the idiot seat. A term I would soon come to learn as a bus driver.

What a great night.

Heaven is a better place today…

I met Sylvia when I was 18 years old when I moved out from home and got a job at the North West Company. We worked together in the same department and as I was drawn to her wit and personality it was her heart and love for her family that made me feel close to her and I lovingly referred to her as my work mom.

We spent many a day in the Warehouse ticketing items for “Soft Lines” and I got her hear all about her kids and family. She spoke of them often and it didn’t take long to realize what an important part of her life they were, and how important she was to them.

Soon her daughter Amber was working in the Warehouse too and it was as if I already knew her. Woven from the same cloth some might say. Just like Sylvia she was genuine and someone I became instant friends with.

Amber wasn’t with the Company for very long but Sylvia kept me in the loop on how she was doing. When Erin was born Sylvia was glowing at work like I had never seen her before. She showed me pictures of “the baby”  like crazy and would often suggest I pop in and meet her.

Little did I know that visit would change my life forever.

I fell in love with that baby and have had the absolute pleasure of being a part of her life since she was just over a year old. During that time I was treated like family and Sylvia was a big part of that. Hanging out with Darryl and Amber made me feel like family. I used to stick around after bringing Erin home and Sylvia and I would chat and watch TV. I got to enjoy all the birthdays, the family dinners, and the holidays. I learned a lot about myself, about family, how to catch mice, how to move furniture in a truck, and Sylvia taught me how to build the best lasagna you will ever eat.

One of my favorite memories was hanging out with Erin the night Mackenzie was born. Bringing her singing and dancing to meet her baby sister. Seeing Sylvia glowing like the first time she told me about Erin.

I was lucky enough visit her in the early stages and got to see her in the hospital before she passed. I literally thanked her for my 20’s. For sharing her beautiful family with me, always sharing a laugh,  and helping us all become the people we are today.

Sylvia, you will be missed.

Shan says that she always knows when her Dad was on the phone because my voice would suddenly get deeper when I was talking to him. I guess I wanted him to know that she was taken care of in that way. I think he felt like I was putting it on for him just like when we were building stuff and I would measure once and cut twice…sometimes three times!

It didn’t take long for JD to make me feel like a part of his family. It started long before Shannon and I were even dating. Well before any of that, he was “Mike’s Dad” and revered among our group of friends like a God of Thunder, or maybe it was that he was revered at the Thunderbird, I can’t recall…but… “anyhoo” as he would always say.

Back in those days he provided for our group in many ways. He coached us in roller hockey, he provided a safe place for us to gather where we always felt welcome and safe, where bathing suits were optional in the hot tub, and in turn he helped us foster the friendships I hold most dear in my life to this day. Mike’s friends came over because of the welcoming home JD provided, and they stayed for the bacon and eggs at breakfast.

JD was a master sleeper and my admiration for him magnified one day when Mike and I came home for lunch. I thought we were home alone until JD came out of his bedroom, yawning and stretching out in his office clothes (likely from Mens Furnishings at the Bay where he once worked). Told us he was just home for his lunchtime “toes up”, like that was a thing! At the lake we would chat after dinner until JD would nod off in mid sentence and just for sport Shan and the boys would compete to see what kind of things they could dangle from his mouth without waking him up.

JD was a giver. He was true and loyal, and would do anything for his friends. He joked with me that he wouldn’t let himself pass in the summer months or his Royal Lake Gang might not make it in.

JD would do anything for his kids. Mike wrecked the truck, Shan wrecked the truck, and Tim…well he still wears sandals all winter.

He would go so far in fact that this one Christmas, Shannon was away from home all the way in Thailand. JD had asked her in an email what he would like for Christmas and she said “Tom”. He had me over for dinner that week and asked me if I would go. That he would send me there on his dime because that’s what Shannon wanted most for Christmas, and that he wanted to do this for us. Not knowing how I would ever be able to pay him back I joked about having to cut his lawn for the rest of my life…to which he replied without missing a beat…

“I like mine at a 45 degree angle.”

We watched almost every single playoff game together this year and when the Jets were out we watched Ovi raise the Cup for the first time. On October 9th, just a couple weeks ago, we watched what would be our last Jet game together at Jocelyn House. At one point he took my hand and told me that I was everything he could have asked for, for his daughter. I told him that Shan and I fell in love in Thailand and that I didn’t know how I could ever repay him for the life that he helped set in motion. Especially since he had gone so many years without a lawn to cut. He said that he always knew that one day he would need me to take care of his most “special” possession, and I intend to do just that.

It would be cliche to say that JD had a great life and it’s too soon for him to be gone. But I do admire his thirst for living. I don’t know much about heaven but if there is a lake there JD has already set up the tarps and should be out in the boat by now looking for someplace calm to float on his pool noodle.

He did what made him happiest and brought much happiness to those around him. I am so blessed that Lexi and Ashlyn got to have so many great memories of a man who wore his heart on his sleeve and loved his family to the fullest.

Here’s to breakfast JD!

This morning I went to Steinbach to pick up a bike rack that Shan had found on Kijiji. We figure it will go nice with the new camper and bring our camping game up a couple notches.

I end up at this beauty house just on the outskirts of town and end up meeting this really cool guy and his family out working in the garage. They invite me in for a little look at what they are working on and I am blown away. They make long boards under the name “Honker Boards” and the craftsmanship and branding is incredible. Just looking at the few he has in the garage immediately makes me think I am cool enough to handle one of these things. Tenfold if they are being crafted locally in Steinbach by a guy in his garage, it really doesn’t get any better!

We talked for a bit about some of the ones he is currently working on and possibilities are endless. Custom trucks, colors, wood grain, etc. Anything you would like on it basically. If you think this is something you would be interested in let me know and I will put you in touch. When I get mine we can surf some pavement like it’s 1999.

It’s hard to (say it’s sad but true) believe that I may have seen the Tragically Hip Live (between us) for the last time this summer (is killing me).

In an effort to truly appreciate and retain this notion Shan and I bought tickets in both Calgary and Winnipeg. It would be futile to discuss which was the better show because they were both brilliant performances. Everything from the outfits to the playlists. Both performances from the heart and genuine like only Gord and the boys could deliver.

For the Winnipeg show we had some shirts made each with our favorite quotes on them. All 20 or so of us met before the concert at a restaurant and looking around that room at my friends with these shirts on flooded my thoughts with memories of the Hip. Camping with Al, Another Roadside Attractions, looking for Gord with Timmy in the Keystone Centre, Pigeon Camera 20 times at Boston Pizza, that blizzard, the countless concerts with the boys, and skating our hearts out as Three Pistols.

Standing beside Ratte at this one when “Ahead by a Century” came on thinking about how many times I drunk dialed that song for him at concerts when we were apart. In fact I remember when the internet was still a mystery and using Ponch’s 56K modem to download that song when it was brand new so that I could play it back for Ratte over the phone. It took like 9 hours but I stayed up.

On my other side; arm in arm with Shannon swaying back and forth to “Wheat Kings” and singing along. Thoughts of our wedding and how we had to have “Are we Family” as our exit song. Tonight her shirt reads “If a song can’t save us, then nothing can” and tonight I believe that.

Watching Gord, Shan said it felt like she didn’t want to take anymore from him. Like he was giving us what we needed in spite of himself. But I also saw a man doing what he loves to do and in the process saying goodbye to the fans who truly adore him. Imagine being diagnosed with terminal cancer and deciding it was time for one more trip across Canada. It’s pretty amazing really and I’m truly richer for having seen them this summer. When Gord stayed out and waved goodbye to the crowd I felt as if I got to say goodbye too.

Hey can we get a little New Orleans is sinking for Paul Ratte? It’s his birthday!