A Good Man From My Hometown

Guy Vanderhaeghe moved away from our hometown the year before I was born. Unfortunately for me, I did not discover Guy's writing until my early 30's. Over four decades later, I met him in person last night.

The first novel that I read of Guy's was, The Last Crossing. This work is a trademark of what he does so well: weaving the history of the Canadian west into compelling and engaging fiction. It had been a long time since a book had energized my imagination, and Guy's writing reminded me of the fantastic story-telling that I had been missing for so long.

I soon picked up, The Englishman's Boy, and I was delighted several years later when the Creative Writing class I was enrolled in would study the novel as part of Red River College's Creative Communications program. The Englishman's Boy was equally as enjoyable as my first introduction to Guy's work, but I wanted more works from this eminent author.

That time has arrived.

Guy visited Winnipeg as part of THIN AIR, the Winnipeg International Writers Festival. If the reading he gave from A Good Man last night is any indication, Guy's new novel is another brilliant example of character development and excellent visual storytelling.

I bought A Good Man during last night's THIN AIR festivities and walked across the stage to ask Guy to sign my copy. I shook his hand and introduced myself.

"We share the distinction of coming from the same hometown," I said.
"Oh, really? What's your last name?" Guy answered.
"Berg," I replied, "B-E-R-G." I sometimes do this as my surname comes out sounding like, "bird."
"Hmm, I don't know that one," Guy replied, "But I left town in 1968. It's changed since then."

I was nervous as hell to talk to this man whose writing I admired so much. I was tongue-tied a couple of times, but we talked for a minute or so before I realized the line of people behind me patiently waiting to talk to Guy as well. I was caught off-guard when he asked how I would like my copy of his book dedicated. I hadn't thought that far ahead. He wrote, "To Greg. Best wishes, Guy Vanderhaeghe."

I told Guy that his writing had re-sparked my interest in reading many years ago – an interest I thought I had lost. Guy, in polite form, thanked me for the compliment. I said that I was very excited to read his latest work, and I shook his hand again and returned to my seat. I opened his book and began to read. A Good Man immediately sucked me in and I read several passages until the intermission ended.

As I write this, Guy is on a plane to Toronto in support of, A Good Man. Guy, it was an honour to meet you. Best of luck on your tour and I'm positive your latest novel is headed for great success.

A Story Written In Fire

As fires go, it could have been much, much worse.

Last Tuesday night my wife and I were alerted by a neighbour that sparks were hitting the exterior of our home. Several trees had grown into the hydro wires outside our back yard, and the branches (with help from the incessant rain) were causing the current to come off the wire.

I went outside into our backyard to get a better sense of the danger. The night air smelled like a campfire. The gusting north wind was pushing sparks and tree embers against the side and roof of our home. I called 911, and within five minutes the street was filled with members of Selkirk's Volunteer Fire Department. The tree burned in two places as the fire crew soaked the branches with water from their truck. The fire was out. The immediate danger had passed.

A member of Manitoba Hydro entered our back yard and did his best to assess the damage with his flashlight. It was cold, wet, windy, and dark. The time and weather conditions prevented immediate action. But at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, three members of Manitoba Hydro were in our back yard formulating a plan. There was little to no room for their equipment to trim away the offending branches, so a decision was made to hire an arborist with the proper tools to get the job done.

On Thursday morning, the scream of chainsaws and cracking of tree limbs filled the morning air. Around mid-afternoon, the job and clean-up was complete. There would be no repeat of what we saw 36 hours earlier.

My wife and I thank our neighbour, Holly, who alerted us to the fire. We extend our sincerest thanks to the Selkirk Volunteer Fire Department who dealt with this fire before it got out of hand. Their professionalism is not lost in their volunteer capacity. Many thanks to Alan from Manitoba Hydro who oversaw the tree removal work from start to finish. He understood our concerns for further complications, and because of his attention, Alan and his colleagues at Manitoba Hydro fixed the problem in the timeliest and safest manner possible.

Selkirk's local professionals did an excellent job, but I hope my wife and I don't need them again any time soon. If we do, I know we can rely on them.

The Long Road Home

Driving home from work today I listened to an excerpt from Sidney Crosby's press conference held this afternoon in Pittsburgh. With the NHL hockey season soon sputtering to life, there was no shortage of commentary if one of hockey's greatest talents would return to the ice for the 2011-2012 NHL season.

I'm sure were it not for the clicking of camera shutters, you could have heard a pin drop as "Sid the Kid" opened his mouth to speak, and as he did, Sidney put to rest months of speculation to one of the most storied cases of a sports-related concussion; and it's far from over. It wasn't what hockey fans were hoping to hear, but it was a message that would only be believed if it came from the source.

Sidney Crosby won't be taking to the ice with his Pittsburgh Penguins this NHL season. Flanked by his doctor and the team's GM, Crosby revealed that he needs time for a complete recovery before he can confidently return saying, "I think it's important to get back to where I need to be. And if not, we've seen it many times, you'll get re-occurring issues and I definitely want to stay away from that."

One moment in the conference stood out for me the most. After Crosby provided an update of his condition, he gave the public a small dose of what it needed to hear. Crosby advocated for education of concussions and the frequency of which head hits occur in his game saying, "We've got to make steps to help avoid them."

Canadians love hockey. The game has a unifying effect. But if in the manner of which it is played it removes our best and most exciting talent, the point of the game will soon be lost. We raise some of our youth to excel in sports to their highest degree and then turn a blind eye to what should be tearfully obvious rules to implement. Of the two hits that have taken Crosby out of the game (for now), neither was likely intended to have the effect that they did. But intentional or not, smashing an opponent's face against a half inch thick piece of plexi-glass, or blind-siding a player in the head at center ice in a national game must stop. Anything that could be done to make hockey less of a contact sport should be encouraged and embraced. It needs to happen as soon as possible in order to move up through the younger generations, otherwise the talent we try to nurture will not be seen as athletes but simple entertainment.

There will always be a public thirst for press conferences that draw attention to the athletes we idolize for their achievements. Let's hope in a future not far from now that any new attention can focus on accomplishments, not status updates to what should have been a preventable body injury.