When I was a young man I wanted to be a great criminal defence lawyer. I wanted the visibility and the notoriety I imagined would come with that. It was narcissistic and vain and shallow but I was young and cocksure of myself. I would not entertain any challenge to my self image. Ironic indeed, it is to be so certain and yet completely unsure. Life was what was laying in wait and it taught me what I needed to learn, if I was to make anything of mine. Just in the nick of time as it turns out. Much of what I needed to learn could be seen in others around me.
I wish I would have known then what I know now.
I know nothing that lasts, that can stand the test of time and all the buffeting that comes with with it, nothing strong and lasting is built quickly. I am reminded of that everyday, surrounded by good people who have lived their lives the right way, amused by a fancy man such as myself but knowing that life needs to be lived the old fashioned way: One good day after another.
My wife Mac and I recently bought a new townhouse from a lovely old couple. I was taught not to describe people as old but in this case Ben and Lois are old, they are 92. They didn’t want to use a realtor which meant that we would have many direct conversations with them during the course of the sale. It was awesome. We shook hands on the price and closing date and instructed our mortified notary.
I learned so much about their lives. Ben was nineteen when he moved to Uranium City in northern Saskatchewan. It was 1952. There was no power, no electricity and no buildings. Canada is rich in uranium and at the time there was a huge push to build nuclear power plants and for that uranium was needed in abundance. The land rush around Uranium City was frantic and overnight a small town rose in the wilderness. Ben staked claims, built cabins, cut roads through the forest and he became a bush pilot. He was a Jack of all trades. One day Ben was asked to be a teacher. So he did. He wasn’t qualified to teach, that was given less heed than it might be today but by the time Ben left Uranium City some fifty years later the local high school had been named after him. He had taught for fifty years. Lois lived in northern Saskatchewan as well, raising her family and working. Spending time with Ben and Lois was a wonderful gift. I couldn’t get enough of them. They are what Good looks like.
Canada is a hard country and it was not easily settled. The country particularly in the north is inhospitable and endlessly challenging, a country which broke the spirit of many who had come before but not Ben and Lois. I felt humility in their company. Nothing flashy, no airs about them, nothing insincere just getting up everyday and going about the business of living the right way. It is upon the backs of people like Ben and Lois that our country has been built.
I would have done well to be more like Ben and Lois in my early years. Good people, living a good life, seeking neither fame nor credit, giving all that they had to give.
I am humbled.
Tony with a capital T 
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