Gord and Roy
In my best recollections, when I heard that Gord Downie died, I was driving on Perimeter Road in Greenville, South Carolina. I was heading toward Ethox Chemicals and was wondering how I could turn my transport truck around in their tight, gated parking lot. It’s not crazy hard to back into their docks; just time-consuming. I was listening to CBC (the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) on Sirius satellite radio, when the news came. Within moments I stopped on the side of the road because I was too upset to be amongst people.

Or maybe I remember incorrectly. Perhaps this scenario happened when Roy Halladay died. A quick bit of research tells me that my confusion makes sense. They passed away three weeks apart, to the day, in October and November 2017. I was equally sad in both cases.

For those not familiar with these two legends: Downie was the lead singer and songwriter for the iconic Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip. He died after a long and highly publicized battle with glioblastoma, brain cancer. Halladay was a Hall of Fame pitcher who spent most of his best years with my beloved Toronto Blue Jays. He died tragically when a small plane he was piloting crashed into the Gulf of Mexico.

Even though Downie’s death was expected, I cried more than I thought I would. I reflected on the Hip’s final concert, in August 2016. They performed in their hometown Kingston, Ontario. The show was simulcast on huge screens in hundreds of locations across Canada, including Burlington’s Spencer Smith Park, our gorgeous lakefront oasis. Kim and I were there, taking in each song from the relative comfort of our blanket on the grass. Downie displayed so much raw emotion, on his face and in his voice, clearly understanding that this was the last time he’d be singing live. By the time the last song, Ahead By A Century, was over, we could see a lot of moist eyes in the crowd of thousands of people. Continue reading →