House for Sale

Attention: All people interested in buying a country house in Stilesville minutes from Moncton attractions:

33 Crossman Hills Road Stilesville is for sale.

The basement floor has 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom with a shower, one spare room for storage, a workshop, and an extra room for guests.

The middle floor has a kitchen, a den, a bathroom, and a sitting room with a woodstove.

The top floor has 3 bedrooms, a walk-in closet, a laundry room for a washer and dryer, a bathroom with a tub and a shower, and a bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub. The top bedrooms have a view of the country area.

This house also has a 2-car garage, a separate garage for tractors/lawnmowers, a backyard perfect for dogs, and a field in front if you want to exercise your dog if you have one.

This house is minutes from Sobeys, Superstore, Cineplex, schools, churches, malls, restaurants, NBCC Moncton, Magnetic Hill, Magic Mountain, maple woods, Crandall University, the Moncton Coliseum, the new Downtown Arena coming up, the YMCA, Good Life Fitness, the Moncton Library, office buildings, parks, farms, and other Moncton attractions.

For more information on this house, here is the link

Sprocket: A Remarkable Beardie

Sprocket, a remarkable, though rambunctious Bearded Collie came to my Mom and Dad’s house when we already had 2 other dogs: an elderly Cocker Spaniel named Chico, and my beloved Border Collie, Molly.

At the moment I was with the Cameron family with their little girl Brooke and their Shepherd\Husky Mix Oskar and Yellow Lab Elmer.

One day the Camerons took us for a drive to my Mom’s house to meet Sprocket and Brooke, a toddler, was calling all the dogs “Puppy.”

Sprocket, at the moment, still a puppy, was adorable, lovable, and a wonderful playmate with Molly.

Sprocket, by the way, was named after the Fraggle Rock dog.

Later they came up with a DVD which was playing at Zellers and the first lines played were “Attaboy Sprocket” and the dog on the show came out.

(SPOILER ALERT) Near the end of the 2005/2006 year Disney came up with a remake of  The Shaggy Dog, in which Tim Allen’s character, a lawyer about to be elected D.A., is bitten by a Bearded Collie from Tibet, which makes him act like a dog at home, in court, and various public places before he turns into a Bearded Collie himself, which almost messes up his career and nearly messes up his marriage, but the spell teaches the man to be a better father and attorney. The movie came to theatres and I enjoyed the movie.

The Cameron family decided to move to Red Deer, Alberta, which meant I would move to Moncton... and later to Saint John, where I had stayed at the Delta as a child, shopping at its mall, and swimming in its pool. I thought of this as time to spend with family in the meantime, including the dogs. It was a heartfelt goodbye to Blake, Kansas and Brooke Cameron and their dogs, sad heartfelt moment 1 of 2... as one day Mom, Stephanie, and I went to the One Stop Superstore to go grocery shopping... and came home and noticed my dear Border Collie Molly was sneezing and pouring blood out of her nose.

We took her to Dr. Vessey’s office, which transferred her to the UPEI Veterinary College, who let us know she had a tumor and had to put her to sleep.

Everyone except me was crying, even my nephews and nieces.

Sprocket missed her so much he did not feel like eating for a long time.

On August 9th 2006, Mom and I took a drive to Saint John to visit L’Arche Saint John.

At the house were nice friendly people, lots of bedrooms, a garage about to be converted to an office, an office about to be converted to a bedroom, a small 2-keyboard organ, a TV, and a kitchen with a schedule.

I got a tour and we talked with my new housemates-to-be, and I told them about the recent tragedy, and one person got a tissue and cried.

I played the small organ, playing  Be Not Afraid, dedicating it to Molly.

Then we drove uptown to see of there were rooms at the Delta, and yes, there were!

We reserved our room, found it, and enjoyed it.

In fact, our room had a view of the Our Lady of the Assumption Church steeple and Martello Tower, under which my new house was located.

I used the pool and the mall, buying a black Timex Ironman at The Source by Circuit City, the CD Cars and the DVD The Shaggy Dog which I had seen the previous spring at the theatre.

After a night at the Delta we drove home.

Later we drove to Antigonish, intent on visiting their L’Arche Houses... and made an impromptu stop in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, where Sobeys and Big 8 Beverages were born, to visit a Border Collie breeder’s house, and picked out one of the Border Collies, named Ella because her registered name was Stellar Ella.

We drove to Antigonish, visited a L’Arche Day Program where I played the piano and talked with lots of friendly people, stayed at a hotel with a pool, drove back to Stellarton, picked up Ella, and came home.

This restored Sprocket’s appetite as he had a new friend.

The following October Mom and I flew to Toronto to attend our first Geneva Centre Autism Symposium, where we met writer Temple Grandin, took the subway plenty of times, shopped at countless malls and HMV stores, attended a Halloween parade, stayed at the Royal York, used its pool, and used its underground link to Union Station. This was my first Fairmont Hotel since the visit to Quebec with Dad and Me when we used the Chateau Frontenac and met Molly as a pup on the way home.

After these wonderful adventures, we flew home... and found out my move to L’Arche was a go.

After 2 weekends spent at L’Arche Saint John, I moved into McKim House, and on my door was a poster with pictures and signatures and a drawing another resident had drawn of me.

When I went home for Christmas, the dogs were happy to see me and we watchedNational Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation andA Christmas Story.

When Christmas came I got my usual items: A Border Collie calendar and a Dogs in Canada Annual... plus a surprise: tickets to a showing of Superdogs, the first since summer when I was between grades 9 and 10, afterBabe came to VHS and I saw the movies for the first time. It’s also interesting to note my nephews Brennan and Connor came too and enjoyed it. (SPOILER ALERT) They had DVDs of a movie called  Daniel and the Superdogs in which a troubled young boy who had just lost his mother to illness, was getting into too much trouble with his friends until he is helped by a Jack Russell Terrier who is a Superdogs competitor while volunteering at the animal shelter, and as a result they compete in the Superdogs competition in the end.

(SPOILER ALERT) When Easter came McKim House had a symbolic tradition on Good Friday: We watched the Disney DVDThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, because Aslan’s sacrifice in the end and his resurrection resembles the Passions in the Gospels read on Good Friday, and a week earlier on Palm Sunday.

Every time I came home to see Mom, all dogs would be happy to see me, including Ella, Sprocket, Chico, and Dillon, Jennifer’s Border Collie, now next door to Mom’s house in a newly-built house.

Sprocket licked my hand all the time, even when we watched TV and movies.

On the National Geographic Channel was a show calledThe Dog Whisperer with famous dog trainer Cesar Milan.

Every time I came home we watched a PVR recorded episode.

(SPOILER ALERT) This trainer had worked with famous celebrities, including the late Ed McMahon and writer John Grogan, author of the famous bookMarley & Me, which later became a tearjerker movie starringCars andYou Me and Dupree star Owen Wilson as Grogan andFriends star Jennifer Aniston as Jenny in which the famous Labrador Marley enters the family and causes all kinds of problems, but at the end of the dog’s life the family realizes what a great dog he was, despite all the problems he caused. I call this movie theTitanic of dog movies.

Some of Cesar’s techniques I used with Sprocket and later 2 Cotons de Tulear named Liza and Lupin, who entered our family in 2009 after Dillon, Jennifer’s Border Collie, had passed away at 14 years of age.

Later Jennifer got another Border Collie named Danny.

It’s interesting to note that later Stephanie, one of my sisters, got a Coton de Tulear named Mo, Lupin’s grandson in fact.

I try Cesar’s techniques with Mo too.

In summer 2017, I came to Moncton to see Mom and Dad, and the dogs.

Sprocket was very elderly but he still remembered me. He had completely lost his hearing. Before I was picked up on the way to the L’Arche Regional Picnic in Truro I gave Sprocket one last pat goodbye and he gave me one last hand lick.

At Hampton Bible Camp I prayed for Sprocket every night to myself.

When I came home I received a text on my BlackBerry from Mom that Sprocket had to be put to sleep on Wednesday, and I was sad.

I will miss him.

“A dog has no use for fancy cars, big homes, or designer clothes. A water log stick will do just fine. A dog doesn't care if your rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give him your heart and he'll give you his. How many people can you say that about? How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make you feel... extraordinary?” - Owen Wilson as John Grogan in the movie Marley & Me

AUS Basketball Weekend 2017

Chapter 1: Day 1

This morning I woke up, showered, then got breakfast.

Then I called a cab and one showed up and took us to Maritime Bus.

Within minutes we boarded our bus and within minutes our bus headed off.

On the way I learned to count to 10 in Japanese!

When it stopped in Sussex for 10 minutes we went in and I bought Hickory Sticks and Perrier.

When it stopped in Moncton the bus for Halifax was waiting and we boarded.

Within minutes Bus #2 took off and stopped a few times.

When we got to Halifax, we went to Superstore to see if we could get bus tickets but we couldn’t.

Then we went to Tim Horton’s and I got wedges and frozen lemonade.

Then we waited for the bus which was #7 Gottingen.

The #7 bus came and took us to L’Arche Halifax.

I had brought along drawings I had drawn at Community Day for L’Arche Halifax as gifts for letting them stay at the house.

When we got there we found our rooms and gave the drawings to the house.

Later we headed out, my Sunday Missal in my pocket, and walked to St. Mary’s Basilica Cathedral for a Daily Mass.

Then we went to Pete’s Fine Foods and each had salad.

Then we went to Scotiabank Centre and when we got to the arena there was 5:15 left in the first quarter in the first game between Memorial and Acadia.

We enjoyed the game.

Acadia beat Memorial.

The 2nd game was between St. F. X. and St. Mary’s.

We cheered loud.

St. Mary’s beat St. F. X.

After the games we walked to the bus stop and #7 came and took us back to the house.

Chapter 2: Day 2

This morning we woke up, showered, and went to church at St. Catherine’s and then a friend with a Jeep drove us to Cousin’s for a lunch with friends of Jackie’s.

After breakfast at Cousin’s Jackie’s friends drove us to Mic Mac Mall.

I wanted to go to Halifax Watch Company and buy a Timex Ironman that was the same as the one I had gotten for Christmas ’95 but it wasn’t there and it was too expensive.

When we were there we went to Flight Centre as Vic’s cousin worked there.

There we went to HMV as all Canadian HMV stores were closing their doors.

There I bought the Dr. Dolittle collection with 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Then they drove us to L’Arche Halifax, and then we had supper there, which was a quiche.

Then we got the bus which took us to Scotia Square.

We took the pedway to Scotiabank Centre for Semifinals 1 and 2.

Semifinal 1 was between Dalhousie and Acadia.

Dalhousie won that game.

Semifinal 2 was between UNB and St. Mary’s.

We cheered loud.

St. Mary’s won that game.

After that game we walked to the bus stop and #7 took us back to L’Arche Halifax.

Chapter 3: Day 3

This morning I had breakfast after showering.

Then Jackie and I walked to St. Catherine’s Church for the Sunday Mass for the first Sunday in Lent.

Then Stephanie and Glen met us and took me to Darrell’s on Fenwick Street.

Mary, Glen’s mother, joined us.

We all had chicken strips and fries, some with Darrell Fries, some with regular fries.

Then we parked the Mini and walked to a pet supply store.

Then we walked down Spring Garden Road and I noticed where the old HMV used to be was an FYI Doctors and a candy/ice cream shop.

Then we went to the new library and the view from the coffee shop was unbelievable.

We could see most of Spring Garden Road.

Then we took a drive to look at houses at neighborhoods and we saw cool odd-looking houses.

Then they drove me back to L’Arche Halifax.

Then Jackie and I met and we took the bus to Scotiabank Centre for the championship final.

We took the tunnel from Scotia Square to Scotiabank Centre.

We decided to take a free tour of the Sports Hall of Fame and there we discovered Halifax, Nova Scotia, was the basketball capital of Canada.
Then we got to our seats.

After the warm ups the announcer announced the starting lineup.

Then the national anthem was sung.

Then the tip off came and we cheered loud for St. Mary’s.

Unfortunately Dalhousie beat St. Mary’s 63-60.

But we had a great time!

We took the bus to L’Arche and stopped at Subway for supper.

Then we went to Shoppers for a card for L’Arche Halifax.

Chapter 4: Journey home 1

This morning we got up and took a taxi to the Maritime Bus terminal which was also the train station, connected to the Westin Nova Scotian.

The bus took off and made a few stops along the way.

When the bus got to Moncton Mom’s car was there waiting for me.

While Jackie proceeded to Saint John Mom took me to the house.

Then Mom and I drove home, stopping at Shoppers for a newspaper and the mail and a few pizzas.

Once we were home the dogs were happy to see me!

Then Mom cooked some beans and healthy wieners for lunch for us.

That afternoon I watched Dr. Dolittle.

Mom and I had a talk and I learned that someday down the road Mom and Dad may sell the house in Stilesville and get a house in Halifax.     

And I had brought along a Halifax book which I had bought in Halifax on Vacation while Justine and Sophia were still with us.

For supper we had chili with scones with berries and ice cream. 

That night I watched the new Annie which showed New York the way I saw the city 2 Christmases ago.

Chapter 5: Full Day in Moncton

Next day Aunt Lynn came and later our old friend Sandy McWilliams as Lynn was to have lunch with us and Sandy wanted to have the high chair we had while Clare was quite a child.

When Lynn came we had lunch together with the Apple Crisp we made the previous day.

We showed her the family cookbook with all the family pictures from different eras.

Later I watched Dr. Dolittle 2.

For supper we had chicken with potatoes and veggies.

Then we had Cherry Jubilee for Mom’s Birthday Celebration.

That night I watched one of the sequels to Dr. Dolittle that came with the 4-pack I bought at Mic Mac Mall.

Chapter 6: Journey home 2

The next morning we packed, had breakfast, and headed back to Saint John.

Mom had money and was to buy the paintings she reserved at the Art Show in February at Saint John Arts Centre.

We stopped at Subway for supper and I had a 6” pizza sub on whole wheat bread with Sun Chips and Sparkling Orange drink.

Then we got to Saint John and Mom picked up the paintings and

An A++++++++++ Christmas in Halifax AND Moncton

Days after McKim-Mas the van took Kristina, Jackie, and me, all to Moncton and we had a lunch there and Franzi drove.

The Christmas tree and decorations were out.

The tree was lit up with new LED Christmas lights.

The Christmas Story decorations, including the Leg Lamp, the Flick’s-Tongue-On-A-Flagpole statue, and Ralphie’s House were on the shelf.

The mini wooden Christmas Tree Dad had made after Molly’s arrival was lit up beautifully.

Mom made some soup, chicken soup for some of us including me and veggie for Franzi, a vegetarian, and one soup blended for Kristina. We enjoyed this and then a little ice cream, some with cookies.

Then we had a chat and while we did it started to snow, so Franzi decided it was time to go so they would not get caught in snow.

Later Mom’s Aunt Pat showed up and we chatted and Aunt Pat gave me an early Christmas gift: A John Denver Christmas CD with one of the songs which he performs on his Muppets CD, but on this CD no Muppets sing.

That night Dad and I went to Irving to get some gas and then Wheaton’s Store to get Mom a gift:  5 foam bath soaps, one of her favorite things which we got last year.

Then we went to the new liquor store to buy drinks for Christmas celebrations.

That night we had fish and chips for supper and then we watched A Christmas Story together.

The next day we decided to work on the pies, so I peeled the apples while Mom made the crust, using the family cookbook with all the nostalgic photos.

Later we went out and did some shopping.

We went to Shopper’s to check the mail and we got the mail.

Then we went to Scholar’s Choice and I saw a small toy Border Collie and I wanted it, so Mom bought it. We also bought a new Scattergories game and a puzzle which would be a gift for Mom.

That night Jennifer had us at her house for spaghetti.

Then I watched National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

The following morning (Christmas Eve Already!) we packed up the car with gifts for Christmas and luggage, dog beds, our 2 Cotons de Tulear Liza and Lupin (we left our Border Collie Ella and old deaf Bearded Collie Sprocket home and Jen took care of them), got in the car, and headed out to Halifax.

While on the road I gave Stephanie live updates on where we were.

Once in Halifax, we found Stephanie’s house and set up.

I had the same room I had years ago.

Then we watched A Christmas Story on Stephanie’s Samsung TV with HD that made the movie look like a BBC show.

Then we waited for Mary, Glen’s mother, to come and join us for Turkey Dinner. She arrived and gave me an early Christmas Gift: A Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2017 book in which Momo, the hiding-and-seeking Border Collie in the book Jennifer gave me last year makes a cameo.

Then we awaited Turkey Dinner on Christmas Eve, which we had.

They had bought a Ginger Ale in New York that was not pop and did not have the sugar Sussex, Canada Dry, and Schweppes did, and I had and enjoyed that.

After Turkey Dinner came Dad’s Plum Pudding with Hard Sauce and Mom’s Apple Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream, and it turned out to be a success.

Then we read The Night Before Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Next morning (Christmas Day) I opened my stocking while wearing the Santa hat which was next to it when I found the stocking.

In it were 2 packages of gum, the toy Border Collie which I saw at Scholar’s Choice, 2 DVD cases (one was a Christmas movie called Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas and the other was a movie called Hachi, [spoiler alert] about an Akita whose owner finds him at a train station and he waits for his master there every day, even years after his owner’s death), a deck of cards and a Crib game.

Then we had Stephanie’s Family-Famous Breakfast Burritos.

Then we sat in various places... and opened gifts.

Stephanie and Glen got me a New York by Subway book.

Erin and Oliver gave me a Holiday trivia game, a book called Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Very Good, Very Bad Dog and a 1981 Remember When book with all the facts and ads from 1981.

Mom and Dad gave me a DVD collection with a bunch of old dog stories, one of which stars Lassie and lots of which starred Rin Tin Tin, a Canadian Dogs Annual, art supplies to used at Creative Connections, a Border Collie Calendar, and a DVD called The Music Man with Matthew Broderick.

Jennifer got me a DVD called The Nut Job, Axe deodorant, shampoo, and body spray, and Old Spice shampoo.

Melody and the family gave me a book called Labrador on the Lawn.

Then the whole family opened the Scattergories Categories game.

Then we took a walk around the neighborhood and through the park and around Citadel, me taking Mo, Stephanie’s Coton de Tulear, Lupin’s Grandson on leash.

Then we came home, and then I watched Elf on Stephanie’s Hi-Def TV, and again it looked like a BBC show.

That night we had Hash with Sparkling Apple Juice and more Apple Pie and Plum Pudding.

The next morning we went to Miracle on 34th Street at Neptune Theatre, meeting Glen’s Mother there, and I got into the story.

Then we decided to head home as they were calling for a storm the next morning.

That night I watched the movie Hachi.

The next morning it was storming for some time, then it cleared up. We stayed home. And we played some of the new Scattergories game.

That night we watched Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever.

The next day we took a drive to do some grocery shopping at Sobeys and decided to buy some Sparkling Apple Juice and nacho chips to give to L’Arche to use for our New Years Eve Celebration.

Then we drove to Frank’s Music to pick out a few birthday gifts for my 36th Birthday.

I chose a DVD set of Season 4 of Friends, the CD Much Dance 2017, and the CD Raffi: Singable Songs for the Very Young for nostalgia.

Poetically, the night before I had a dream in which our Mason & Risch Piano came back and I found the goodbye card for Mrs. Weldon and Hillsborough School was putting on an Elf-based Christmas party for 1st Graders in 1987-1988 in which I was Buddy and my classmate Danah was Miles Finch, the small Elf-sized fighting writer in Elf.

Then I watched the movie Miracle on 34th Street, and the lines in the movie were the same as the lines in the play.

Then we got gas in preparation for my journey back to Saint John the next day.

Then I watched Eight Days a Week: a Beatles Movie on The Movie Network.

The next morning I woke up and we hit the road. Then I got back to Saint John and Mom headed home due to a forecasted storm.

She stopped at Chris and Milton’s house in Sussex Corner.

I believe this year was the best Christmas Vacation Ever! I loved everything about this holiday season! 

L’Arche Creative Connections

Creative Connections is a newly-opened L’Arche day program at Prince William Street.

About a month ago the Grand Opening occurred at night and one of our members, who works at Key Industries and used to be in the Key Industries In-Key Choir cut the ribbon. Some of us got interviewed.

The Following morning to the afternoon we had an open house and we got lots of visitors who also tried their luck at art.

Sometimes people drop in.

This place is an art gallery where works of people with and without disabilities are hung and displayed.

Sometimes when cruise ships visit Saint John some of their passengers visit this day program.

I am one of the artists. I created some work which is hung: a picture of strawberries with a yellow background, called a wash, a colored leaf which I painted with a green yellow background, again called a wash, another colored leaf without a wash, and a colored painting for which I put globs of paint on an edge and painted down, creating a rainbow of paint.

This day program started as Creative Club, meeting on Thursdays and Fridays all day at All Saints Church’s basement and on Wednesday mornings at Saint John Arts Centre.

The All Saints Church basement has a piano and sometimes at Creative Club there I would play it at breaks.

We contributed art for events such as For the Love of Art, which was held at Saint John Arts Centre, which involved me playing the piano and Hope Springs Concert at Kennebecasis Valley High School Theatre which also involved me playing the piano. Here Gray and I were emcees and we introduced each art and I contributed my jokes and puns. All these events had a good turned out and raised money for L’Arche.

The art involved in For the Love of Art was posters of random objects, buildings, creatures, and people all made completely of cut-out hearts, called Heart City.

The art involved in Hope Springs was flowers and plants made of Papier Mache. Our works were displayed in the school lobby whilst some were in front of the podium onstage where Gray and I were emceeing.

Here we also make cards made of art and draw things for big events and holidays.

For example when Halloween was around the corner we drew pumpkins, haunted houses, bats, witches, cats, tombstones, mummies, Frankenstein drawings, and things they draw in Mexico at the same time for a thing called Day of the Dead which is referenced by Delgado, the heroic Spanish speaking German Shepherd in Beverly Hills Chihuahua after he saves Chloe the Chihuahua from being fought by his nemesis after escaping the dog fights when they see the parade. These crafts were called sugar skulls, to look nice and to honor those who meant a lot to them. We made lots of these, and all you need to make these are round cardboard, not corrugated, pencil, Sharpies, and coloring markers. Here we draw a skull and decorate it with flowers or whatever you wish to put on it. On some I put music notes and some I put guitars on it to indicate my musical skills and perfect pitch. This place is next to a place called Piece ‘o’ Cake, a cake and cupcake store and we made one of these crafts for them, putting cupcakes on top of the skull and in the eyes. Across the street is a local coffee shop with drinks and snacks called Java Moose. We made one of these sugar skulls for them, putting coffee cups in the eyes.

After Halloween Remembrance Day was just around the corner, so we drew poppies in honor of our veterans, including my late Gramps. Here we used pencil, Sharpies to trace the pencil marks, and water color paints. Here we learned about perspective, which simply means if a poppy or item is bigger, which means the poppy in question is the closest, then the stems of the ones behind don’t show through the closest one because the stem is not usually translucent.

After Remembrance Day we were informed we, along with most businesses uptown, would participate in a gingerbread building contest, so at the moment at which I am writing this story, we built our Martello Tower out of gingerbread. We also made people out of gingerbread, sleds out of gingerbread, a bench out of pretzel sticks, Christmas trees out of ice cream cones coated with frosting and candy and some with green coconut to resemble pine trees, and I decided to make a Griswold Squirrel and a Border Collie out of gingerbread and have the person sitting on the bench with the dog next to him me holding a cup of hot apple cider as we watch the tower and people sliding down the hill on sleds and crazy carpets. I also made a Christmas wreath out of gingerbread. 

Grade 11 & 12 & Goodbye High School

Chapter 11: Grade 11

Grade 11 came very quickly.  It was a new school.  It had a pool, a gym, a cafeteria, and lots of fun things. 

They had a group that regularly met called S.T.A.R., an acronym standing for Students Together Against Racism.  We prepared poems, speeches, and songs, and one song was The Young Bloods’ Get Together which came up in Forrest Gump. 

We presented these at different schools all over New Brunswick and a school near Halifax called Cole Harbour High School, where there were lots of racial issues we had to address.  They already had their own S.T.A.R. committee and later they visited us, giving their own speeches and songs, and their finale song was John Lennon’s Imagine. 

Simon, our Golden Retriever was very old and was developing health issues that the Animal Hospital was overlooking, and he passed away.  He had been spending lots of time with Melody, who had a house near the church and near Riverview High School.  Sometimes when Melody would pick me up after school Simon would be at her side and we would walk to her house, get in her Toyota Tercel, and head home.  Sometimes we spent time together. 

I joined the school’s band and we played beautiful songs in practice and at important things like assemblies, games, and the Remembrance Day service in the theatre. 

I also regularly played guitar and sometimes piano at the coffee houses held in the school’s cafeteria. 

I joined the church’s youth choir.  Many members went to school with me.  They hosted parties in the hall with music, food, watching the movies Grease and That Thing You Do, and piano playing. 

Mom and I went to a used bookstore and I got a copy of Eric Knight’s Lassie Come-Home and I read this in school for English, and I was lost in the story.  I had been renting and watching a VHS of the 1994 movie Lassie in which a family moves from the city to the country, picking up the Collie of the title up and she helps turn things around with the family. 

I joined basketball for house league again. 

Later Mom, Dad, and I went to Halifax for the C.A.C.L. conferences at the Sheraton Casino Halifax Hotel.  I swam in the hotel’s pool.  There I went to HMV and used the listening stations there and bought Great Big Sea’s Play CD. 

I helped the school’s basketball team by keeping stats for each game. 

The Christmas that followed I got lots of CDs, one of which played at a Halloween party at the church hall.  I also got a hockey CD ROM game.  We got a video camera so as to film us family members for Gram who was getting very old and missed us.  We filmed Brennan while he was quite young, Erin playing basketball for Moncton High’s basketball team playing in Saint John, me playing basketball in house league in the final, me playing guitar and piano at some of the school’s coffee houses, the church choir singing beautiful anthems from sheet music Melody had ordered for us, and all our pets. 

My Birthday also came up and I got a camera to take pictures of things like basketball played by Erin, pets, and other family and events. 

The musical Annie came up at Moncton High and I saw the musical and during the scene where Annie adopts Sandy before being caught by the cop who takes her back to Miss Hannigan’s Orphanage, there were real live dogs, and one of them I had seen in Superdogs a couple summers ago.  Sandy was also played by a real live dog. 

Melody soon got a Golden Retriever puppy named Ben.  Later she got a piano for her house. 

Dillon soon had another one of his flyball matches, this time at Beausejour Curling Club, and he did very well, and I took some pictures of him and his teammates and his opponents. 

We also went to the Dog Show at an arena, which we saw every year.  I loved the Collies, the Shetland Sheepdogs, and the Retrievers. 

Pete, our Cocker Spaniel, developed health issues, which are popular with most Cockers, and he passed away. 

Summer came up and I got the yearbook, which also sometimes I pull out to remember those old times. 

I got a summer job with Future Shop, where I had gotten the CD player and the CDs the previous summer.  This was my first job, and I was to dust shelves at first, then move on to pricing things like CDs, video games, computer games, and VHS movies.  I also helped customers find a certain title or item.  I also helped customers try a certain CD they wanted before they bought it.  I also bought a few CDs with the money paid. 

Sometimes we took trips to Halifax, staying in the Holiday Inn Select, where we had stayed as kids.  We swam in the pool, went to HMV, went to Mountain Equipment Co-Op, and had great meals. 

Chapter 12:  Grade 12

This was my final grade of school, which was to be as heartfelt as my last year in Junior High. 

This time I got a Co-op Ed job with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, doing computer data for the company. 

Again I joined S.T.A.R. and the school’s band. 

Erin quit basketball and started doing theatre and musicals. 

This year the school had 2 productions, one she sat out, and one in which she was in. 

The first musical was called Forever Plaid, starring 4 men as a harmony group singing well known old songs as well as holiday hits. 

The second musical was Mame, which was well known for its music and its comical lines. 

Erin had the role of Pageen Ryan.  By now Brennan was learning to talk and sing, and Erin got him to sing some of the songs from this musical, which he remembered. 

This Christmas I got the book Floss, about a young Border Collie who loves to play with children and their soccer ball in a town’s park, but moves to the country to work with sheep and has to learn to take the place of an elderly Border Collie by herding sheep. 

I also got a huge dog book. 

Quite sadly, Ben was now 1 year old, but he developed a brain tumor, which caused him to turn on Emma, nearly killing her, and he had to be put down. 

Melody later got another young Retriever, this time a female named Mabel. 

She later met a man whom she saw a lot named Matt Taylor, who was currently in the war in Kosovo as a peacekeeper.  He later came home. 

Again sometimes we traveled to Halifax and stayed at the Holiday Inn Select, swimming in their pool. 

There we went to HMV and Mountain Equipment Co-op. 

Mom and I went to Fredericton to do some rehabilitation at a place called the Stan Cassidy Centre. 

They had a piano which I played, and at the nearby mall I bought the VHS of the 1994 movie Lassie, which I had mentioned earlier. 

Later a sequel to the Babe movie I had mentioned in a previous chapter came to VHS and I bought it, anxious as to what Fly and Rex the sheepdogs do and say. 

I borrowed Jennifer’s copy of Nop’s Trials and read it for English and noticed the language was similar to Lassie Come-Home. 

Both read like the King James Version of the Holy Bible. 

In Nop’s Trials the dogs talk like they are biblical characters in the King James Bible and in Lassie Come-Home most of the words look like those in the King James Version of the Holy Bible. 

Now comes the really heartfelt part.  The prom came up, which was really fun.  Then came the graduation.  It was a heartfelt goodbye to me blessed school years and friends. 

Melody and Matt took me to Greenwood, Nova Scotia, to stay a weekend in her house. 

There I watched Dr. Dolittle and That Thing You Do on their Sanyo TV and shopped at a local CD store, buying Grammy Nominees 1999 and U2’s Greatest Hits 1980-1999. 

Then a camping trip came up in Fundy National Park with Mel, Matt, and my fellow choir members, most of whom were school friends, although this turned out to be so much of a nightmare I could have sung the last part of the last verse of The Beach Boys’ Sloop John B. 

It was rainy and our tent was leaking and I was so wet I could have felt like Cameron felt all the time in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. 

There were hikes with Mabel, music listening, meals, BBQs, and singing together. 

I came home early, clothes very wet.

And as soon as I was dry and clean, I took the leash, put it on Dillon, and took him for a walk. 

Moncton High’s Forever Plaid cast and a few members of the Drama club joined forces to do some Disney songs at Centennial Park for Canada Day celebrations. 

Later the wedding with Melody and Matt came up, which was fun.  Not Fun the music group, but we did Carry On.   

This was followed by something even more wonderful:  Remember in the Grade 9 chapter I mentioned that after watching Babe several times I wished for my own long-coated Border Collie? 

Well, I made a phone call using the number on an ad in the paper for Border Collie puppies, and I was told I was getting a Border Collie puppy! 

I named her Molly, after a Border Collie on an agility tape I had taped earlier before Melody’s wedding. 

She arrived the following autumn just before the tip-off tournament for high school basketball. 

She and I walked together and sometimes Dillon and Molly spent time together. 

He and Molly would take turns to walk with me on leash. 

Chapter 9: This is Me in Grade 9

Editor's Note: this week, we pick back up on the school years with Grades 9 & 10. Forget what happened in Grade 8? No problem. Read the Grade 8 story.

Chapter 9: This is Me in Grade 9

This was my first grade in High School, in a place called Harrison Trimble High School.  I got up, got breakfast, and then headed to Bessborough School, which was our bus stop.  My bus was 105.  Within minutes of my arrival at Bessborough School, Bus 105 showed up.  In the morning it was a standard yellow school bus, and for the way home from school it was a Codiac Transit city bus serving as Bus 105. 

We boarded the bus and it stopped in various neighborhoods to pick up students.  It passed Centennial Park and Rocky Stone Field where high school and local league football and sometimes soccer were played.  Within minutes the bus arrived at Harrison Trimble High School.  I reported to my homeroom, and just like in Junior High, each grade I had a series of teachers. 

I had a series of TAs.  My first T.A. was J.V. cheerleaders’ coach Miss Mullins.  My second TA was hockey manager Mr. Bannister.  My third TA was Mrs. Robinson, whom I had met at Bessborough School during a Junior High grade.  My homeroom teacher was social studies teacher and J.V. boys’ basketball coach Mr. Grimmer.  My English grammar teacher’s name was Mrs. Pipes.  My French teacher was volleyball coach Mrs. Bourque, who was a counselor at Camp Centennial.  My technology teacher was Mr. Kitchen.  My music teacher’s name was Mrs. Killam, and her room had keyboards with various voices and a headset for each keyboard.  My gym teacher was hockey coach Mr. Belong who looked like the Ducks’ coach in The Mighty Ducks 1 and 2. 

This grade and others coming up were lots of fun, as we had not only intramural sports of all kinds, but we had famous sports teams like basketball, football, hockey, curling, soccer, and, of course, cheerleading.  They had pep rallies for things like football games, big basketball games, and big hockey games. 

The theatre had a grand piano which I played sometimes. 

I took guitar lessons from a teacher named Shane and then a teacher named Michel. 

I went to the Moncton Coliseum for my first hockey game: an Under 17 tournament game. 

I joined house league basketball and we played on weeknights.  Erin also played house league and middle school basketball.  She also joined a Moncton provincial team called the Hawks, who played all around town and played in a tournament in Bedford, Nova Scotia. 

I went to the football games and did the catchy cheers with the cheerleaders. 

Mrs. Killam got us to do some of our own jingles for companies or organizations, so I did a jingle for my favorite car at the time: the Mercury Grand Marquis, using the Honky Tonk sound on the keyboard. 

One Sunday my church had an apple picking day, which was a lot of fun.  We went to Belliveau Orchard in Memramcook.  There a horse- or tractor-pulled wagon took us to a series of apple trees and we were to pick apples from trees marked with a certain colored ribbon.  This was followed by a picnic at an abandoned aboriginal church yard. 

We went on a field trip by school bus to the University of Moncton’s C.E.P.S. for the Hoop Classic, my first Hoop Classic game. 

The Christmas that followed I asked for a Timex Ironman digital watch like Dad’s, and I got one. 

We went on a bus trip to the Moncton Coliseum for the Hockey Classic in which our hockey team was playing. 

The Easter that followed I got the VHS Babe, and when we watched it for the first time I fell in love with Fly the female sheepdog. 

We got another dog: a Bearded Collie like Tim Allen constantly turns into in the 2006 remake of The Shaggy Dog, named Emma.  She and Dillon played wrestle together a lot.  It was the same thing with Emma and Simon sometimes. 

Grade 9 soon ended and summer came up.  I got my first high school yearbook.  I still pull that up and look back on the good times from this grade. 

I have some bad news about that summer and some good news. 

The bad news is our BMW 325i had had it.  The good news is we got a new car: a dark blue Saab 900. 

I also got a new electric guitar: A sunburst Squier Stratocaster with a new amp. 

Chapter 10: Grade 10

This was my second year in high school.  This was known as a Foundation Block year. 

I again took guitar lessons. 

Gramps passed away of cancer and old age and it was a heartfelt day at the funeral.  That is when I started shaving, using Gramps’ razor. 

I had the same teachers as last year, except this year my main TA was Mrs. Robinson. 

I joined house league basketball again. 

This year I was so enthusiastic I was named Honorary Cheerleader. 

Not only this, but they got me to play my electric guitar in the theatre, and so I played The Eagles’ Take It Easy.

I again went to the football games, this time joining the Cheerleaders and doing the cheers and moves with them, except the lifts. 

Erin played basketball for the Moncton High School J.V. women’s basketball team. 

We went to Disney World in Orlando for a week, and also Universal Studios.  We got to see how they make certain movies I had seen or was about to see look real.  They had real and fake animals like Dalmatian puppies, horses, and all kinds of animals.  They had rides and showed us how they make things in movies look real. 

This year I went to several Hoop Classic games at C.E.P.S. and the women’s Hoop Classic at Moncton High School.   

This Christmas I got a small keyboard. 

We also went to the Hockey Classic. 

Dillon was at the house almost every day I came home from school, but one day, I came to a surprise:  Mom had rescued a lost terrier mix named Harvey in peril, and was waiting for the owner to claim him.  He and Dillon played a lot together. 

That day our neighbors were in a play in the Drama Festival of a sequel to The Wizard of Oz called Trouble in Oz. 

Dillon started playing flyball and I saw a match and got to see and make friends with all kinds of dogs, including lots of friendly, nice-looking Border Collies. 

Grade 10 soon ended, and I got the yearbook.  I also sometimes pull this out to remember some fun stuff from this grade. 

When I came home I was met with a surprise:  I was to transfer to Riverview High School with Mrs. McArdle as my TA again as I needed a band and music program for my last 2 grades and Harrison Trimble did not had either of those, except a keyboard class. 

Jennifer had a baby: a boy named Brennan.  This meant I was an uncle! 

Brian joined a musical group called Bishop who played on Breakfast Television and at a Canada Day concert before fireworks came up. 

I got my first CD player and with it a couple of CDs:  Lionel Richie’s Dancing on the Ceiling and the Spice Girls’ debut album.  Later I started regularly buying CDs. 

Kiwanis Park and Harold Page Field were hosting world baseball and I saw some games, and that is when I had my first Barq’a Root Beer.  Catchy commercials for this were playing for this product. 

Later Mrs. McArdle took me for a tour of my new school, followed by a trip to McDonald’s so I could get a Smarties McFlurry.  

An A+++++++++++++++++++++++ Old-Fashioned Family Christmas without the Bumpus Hounds or Squirrels in Trees

2 days after McKim-Mas Charlotte, Jackie, Stephane, and I, all went to drop me off at my Mom’s house...and to have a little lunch and had an unexpected visit from one of my family’s old friends, Alma’s lobster plant’s ex-owner Jim Wood and Stephane, Jackie and Charlotte got to meet them while having Dr. Oetker’s veggie and spinach pizza. My housemates each got an SPCA Moncton Pet Calendar. After chatting the rest of the house left and I stayed for the Christmas Holidays! The house had its tree up with the lights on but no presents yet. There was also the small wooden Christmas tree Dad had made me in 1999 after Molly’s arrival, the statue of Flick with his tongue on a flag pole from A Christmas Story, a model of Ralphie’s house in A Christmas Story, a small replica of the leg lamp from A Christmas Story, and Christmas books all over.

I brought a couple New York movies to remember last year: Home Alone 2, and Sleepless In Seattle, in fact purchased last year at the Empire State Building where Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks and Tom Hanks’s character’s son finally meet in the end of the movie! (See full story in New York Blog) We visited Jen, Brian, and the boys Danny, Pacey, Connor, and Brennan who was home from Mount A for the Christmas Holidays, who had their Christmas tree up with LED lights, but no presents under the tree yet. They had their Christmas books out, including Jennifer’s publication Gadzooks the Christmas Goose, a collection of stories including the above story, and a collection of stories including an entry by Jennifer called Of Waiting Rooms and Russian Blues.

This year, unlike past Christmases, I not only peeled apples for Mom’s Apple Pie, but I also made the crusts AND reminded her to use the extra crust for Christmas-shapes on the top of the pies.

Mom also made her traditional shortbreads with the red and green cherries on top.

As a tradition we watched Christmas movies like Elf, (also set in New York­) National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, and A Christmas Story.

When Christmas Eve FINALLY arrived, (one more sleep till Christmas!) Stephanie, Glen, and Mo, (their Coton de Tulear, Lupin’s grandson in fact) arrived at noon hour and we had Lasagna tonight, which Stephanie called “Fa-la-la-la-la la-la la Lasagna!” After supper we watched National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, Stephanie asked for my e-mail password and changed it. 

On Christmas Morning, I opened my stocking. In it were Old Spice Timber deodorant, a DVD that had 17 Again and Hairspray, an Herbal Essences travel-sized shampoo, Olay vanilla-scented body wash, Orange San Pellegrino, and cheesies.

We had our traditional Breakfast Burritos, which we have every year on Christmas Morning.

Then my family started looking for and calling Ella and thought she had wandered somewhere, got lost, and/or gotten into some kind of peril! I thought it was flyer time. This continued while I was downstairs, and somebody got me to look downstairs for her, and though I didn’t hear any dog crying sounds or claw scratching sounds, I looked into the room next to Dad’s workshop with the laundry sink...and there she was.

When the presents could finally be opened, I opened Stephanie’s 2: a set of fizzy drinks and a book created by Stephanie about last year’s New York Christmas.

Then I opened some of Mom and Dad’s to me: DVDs Mist: The Tale of a Sheepdog Puppy, Mist: The Roundup, Mist: The Great Challenge, Mist: A Helping Paw, and Project X starring Ferris Bueller’s Matthew Broderick at his teen age. Among the traditional gifts were a Dogs Annual and a Border Collie calendar.

Mom also conducted a treasure hunt leading to a small keyboard which I kept seeing in stock at Shoppers Drug Mart when getting the mail with Mom. The first song, seeing as it was Christmas, was the Charlie Brown theme. I also played My Favorite Things from The Sound of Music.

Erin got me another subscription to National Geographic Traveler Magazine.

Melody got me a novel called Understanding Border Collies.

Jennifer got me a cool book, called Finding Momo, about a Border Collie who travels across Canada and the United States, and it’s like Where’s Waldo because you have to find him because he likes to play hide and seek.

As an added bonus, Stephanie got me to come up while I was watching Hairspray... and gave me her I-Pad! Her office gave her a new one and she gave her old one to me along with its charger. Now I could use Face Time and Scrabble against the computer, email, and instant message.

When suppertime came Jennifer’s family, including Brian’s father Ron (who had lost his wife Loretta and I went to the beautiful funeral mass near Halifax), all joined us, including Mom’s Aunt Pat, who had lost her husband Bill. I had the turkey, potatoes, cranberry sauce (which dad sometimes dubs “Cranberry Sarce”), turnip, and Jennifer’s Sweet Potato Casserole, which I make several times at McKim House, using the family cookbook with the pictures. I also had one of my sparkling drinks with supper.

When dessert finally came I announced that, as previously stated, unlike last year, I not only peeled the apples, but made the crust as well.

I had even peeled the potatoes and the carrots for the Turkey Dinner.

Some had plum pudding with hard sauce, but, as a tradition, I chose Mom’s Apple Pie with Breyers Vanilla Ice Cream.

I went to bed looking forward to seeing the new Star Wars movie now in theatres with the Kents and Stephanie and Glen...

But on Boxing Day morning Stephanie, Glen, and Mo, had to go back to Halifax as they were forecasting most of Atlantic Canada to get a huge snowstorm.

Nonetheless we saw Star Wars and it was gripping and tense.

I was both preparing to jump and wishing Stephanie and Glen were there to watch the movie with Glen wearing his Star Wars shirt.

Next day it started storming, but my Mom and I took a walk in Mapleton Park, Mom with Sprocket on leash, and me with Ella on leash, and it made me think of the time I carried Linus in that park during that storm (Remember that, Erin?).

When we got back to the car we were just about to go from the park to Sobeys and Shopper’s Drug Mart...when we ran into our friend and dog-sitter Caroline, now taking care of a coonhound, and Ella started crying excitedly and started licking Caroline’s face.

After a long chat we got in the car and went to Sobeys to get a few groceries and to Shopper’s to get the mail, and noticed on the way home some cars had the wrong tires, making the common misconception that the term “all season tires” means the tires cover all 4 seasons, spring, summer, fall, and winter, and were spinning and having trouble down the now snow-covered roads.

I played Scrabble with Mom and won by playing a J on a Triple Letter Score, an X on a Triple Letter Score, SUQ on ZAGS for a Triple Word Score, and a few 3-, 4-, and 5-point letters on Double Letter Scores.

When I got home I continued Hairspray...when Mom came down and invited me to come with her and Dad to a Miracles’ home game at the Moncton Coliseum, though it was still storming, but this was one of few early birthday celebrations for me. Though they lost by turning the ball over and making poor shots, we had fun. 

Early Birthday Gift

Next morning Mom went to the gym...while Dad and I went to Champlain Place, not only to find a battery for his now 30+-year-old Swiss Army Watch, but to find me an early birthday present, and I was surprised that he took me not to HMV...but to the watch department of Sears...and bought me a Timex Analog watch with 3 dials, date, and chronograph.

I took a picture with my BlackBerry and shared it with my sisters and later Victoria at my house.

That afternoon Mom and I AGAIN took Sprocket and Ella to Mapleton Park...and ran into Caroline and the Coonhound AGAIN for the second day in a row and Ella started crying and licking Caroline’s face again and we chatted again. We proceeded with the walk and went home.

That evening we had an early Birthday celebration supper.

Next day there was another storm and Jennifer joined us for a Scrabble game and I beat her!

The next day I packed, headed to the bus station...and headed home with my I-Pad, new watch, new movies, and new books, magazine, and calendar to bring home. And I got home safely! 

Election Day 2015 - Written on Hover Board Day!

Fun at the polling station with L'arche Saint John!

(Written on October 21, 2015, as pictured on Back To The Future 2, minus the flying cars and Hover Boards)

On Monday, Election Day, I voted for Liberal.  In fact, unlike last time I voted at the Carlton Community Centre gym, where Stephane and I were playing Special Olympics Basketball some years ago.  The last time an election had happened our voting place was the Assumption Centre down the road from our house. 

That night I was watching coverage of the Election Day and Liberal was schooling Conservative and NDP by a long shot.  In the morning the radio said Liberal won by a lot and that lots of people were tired of 10 years of Stephen Harper and voted Liberal. 

I was personally tired of Harper myself and thought it was time for a change.  Up to that time TV and radio were playing attack ads against Justin Trudeau, which said things like “Justin Trudeau.  He’s in way over his head,” and “Justin Trudeau.  He’s just not ready.”  There was also an attack ad starring Justin Trudeau against Stephen Harper.  Words popped up on stop signs and street and store posts that read “STOP HARPER.”  The attack ads, though they were rude against a certain candidate, were funny at times. 

A week ago from Monday, I saw Mom and Dad go to a nearby daycare for advance polls, which was down the road from the Irishtown Rec Centre at which our Retriever Simon got his training done and I saw it.  I saw Mom and Dad show their ID, get their pamphlet and ballot, and each go behind the voting desk and come out after placing their vote. 

A week later came my turn!  

Brothers & Sisters: A Tale of Two Siblings

In this special edition of the blog, one sister and one brother compare childhood memories.

Stephanie

The first memory I can taste the shape of is this: a family friend, a priest, hid a remote control behind his back and turned the channels IN FRONT OF MY EYES. I thought his direct line to God empowered his flicking capability.

Patrick

My first family memories were my adoption day, my first day of school, my first Christmas with the McGrath, my first camping trips with the family and dogs, my first hotel trips with the family [Halifax and Boston], my first trip with the family to pick up a puppy, [Simon, our Golden Retriever] and my first plane trip to Toronto to see Gram. 

One McGrath behaved well in New York, one did not.

Stephanie

My first family memories of you, Pat, my MOST FAVOURITE BROTHER EVER were of a one-piece splash suit  - you holding mom’s hand and waiting for me & your other sisters (which one is your favourite?). On mom’s other hand was Erin, our youngest sister (is she your favourite?) always decked out in sweat pants. And – um- wait a minute, PATRICK.  How is it that we’re writing together and I don’t even get a mention in your memories … not even a spark?

Email From Patrick

Dear Stephanie: 

Here is my brand-new paragraph!  Read it and weep! 

Patrick

Patrick

When I saw Stephanie, I thought, though a teaser at times, she is fun to be with and travel with. When I saw Erin, I was referring to the Hillsborough house as Erin’s House. When Melody first taught me the notes on the piano is when I started learning lots of songs by ear. When I saw Jennifer I loved her stories and her love of things like dogs, cats, and horses. When I first saw Mom when she picked me up in that Volvo 240 Wagon I had no idea that she would be my mother to be and when I moved in, I loved her very much. When I first saw Dad in his Datsun King Cab pickup I noticed how funny he was and when he and I drove to the dump we had fun listening to Swinging on a Star on CBC and singing songs like I Had a Dog, High Hopes, and Swinging on a Star. When I saw the dogs I loved them so much that I walked them a lot, even when we went camping. I loved them so much I visualized my older self having a dog of my own, which actually happened, but was short lived. When I saw the family I was very excited. I thought “What a very nice, interesting family. I loved the family very much. I would describe this family as a really excellent family that helped me out in so many ways.

Stephanie

Pat, thanks for the mention. I’m glad you had a dog of your own and that we’re – with you – an “excellent family”. I think it’s funny how we grew up in the same house, but remember things differently. Remember how you hated it when your toiletries got rearranged in the bathroom – not lined up – and sometimes mom would turn the toothpaste upside down on you as a joke? I can’t BELIEVE you still think I did it. It wasn’t. Me.  Also, who is your favourite sister? Did you know that one of the first things I remember – ever – is that I thought God helped Father Bill change TV channels because I’d never seen a remote control before?

Patrick

I did not know that Father Bill taught you to use a remote control.  About the above paragraph, I know Mom would never rearrange my toiletries or turn my toothpaste or deodorant upside down.  And neither would Jennifer.  I only know one person who would do this and that would be you.  Besides I have 2 witnesses who heard my toiletries rattling and saw you come out.  These witnesses said yes by wagging their tails, which answers “yes” to any question I asked them. 

Text Exchange:

 Steph: PS who is your favourite sister?

Pat: No favourites when it comes to family or sister.

What is Upper Cape Like After Canada looking like the movie Frozen?

Day 1 saw Stephane, Vic, and me, all going to Moncton in the 2015 Kia Sedona which we used for Quebec City 2015 and staying for lunch En Route to Bouctouche so Stephane could see his family. 

Enjoying the beach.

Later Erin, Christopher, and Oliver, all met Mom and me at Costco, where the Camerons used to take me to browse, watch the TVs play a certain movie, and eat Twist ice cream before I moved into L’Arche. 

They didn’t have much of a DVD or CD selection, but we got groceries and Mom and I looked at TVs as ours upstairs was fading and I liked the LG LED TVs and the Samsung TVs like the one in McKim House, and Erin said she didn’t like the Hi Def TVs because it makes movies look like a BBC show or soap opera. 

We also looked at books and I saw an Eyewitness France book and an Eyewitness Australia book. 

We went home. 

Tonight after supper I watched my DVD of Pitch Perfect, enjoying the music again. 

Day 2 was the day I had been waiting for after 2 Frozen-like blizzard-filled winters and no Upper Cape or Camille’s. 

We love walking the beach when the tide is out.

We packed up the car...and headed out to Upper Cape, leaving our dogs behind.  

 Dad had left early to take his John Deere ride-on mower to mow out a path to the beach and Glen, who was already there with Stephanie and Mo, was mowing. 

Mom and I went in Erin’s red Toyota Rav-4 with Oliver in the car seat, and I enjoyed his company and his excitement and his chattering. 

 We got there and the sight of the cottage and our beach excited me. 

I had brought along, as with every year, my copy of Nop’s Trials, as a tradition which started in 2006 before I lost Molly when I was borrowing Jen’s copy of this particular book, and I read this most of the time while I was here. 

I changed into my bathing suit which went very well with my T-shirt! 

After a lunch of snacks, such as nachos with salsa, crackers and cheese, lots of berries, and lots of Perrier, we headed to the beach for a long-awaited swim in the water. 

I went in and so did Erin and Stephanie, and I enjoyed my swim so much after 2 years I was doing Jean Vanier poses from his pictures on his books.  

After this I went back and relaxed, reading the book while my feet and bathing suit dried. 

Relaxing in the cottage.

As a note, this was also my first Upper Cape visit since I had my BlackBerry Q5. Therefore I used this to take some pictures. 

After hours of relaxation, visits to the water, strolls on the beach, reading Nop’s Trials, and enjoying the cottage we drove to Camille’s and I went with Stephanie and Glen in their new Mini.  

Once we got to Camille’s we waited for the rest of the group. 

Enjoying Camille's with the family.

Then we ordered our traditional summer meals, which in my case was Fish and Chips, and Mom had a Lobster meal, and Erin had Chicken Fingers and Fries, and some had Fried Clams and Fries or just the Clams. 

I brought along a Perrier can as all they served as drinks was Coke and Pepsi pops and water. 

We went home and I went in Dad’s Porsche Macan in which I had gone to Camp Wildwood a couple months ago.  

When we got home I was so tired.  I was like a bicycle because I was “2 Tired” and would have fallen over.  Therefore I went to bed. 

At Camille's!

Day 3 was return-home day. 

I had breakfast again with Erin, Christopher, and Oliver there to have fun with. 

I watched a PVR recording of an episode of Amazing Race Canada set in Halifax and I came up with the idea of L’Arche Saint John being a place where teams would come to do something to collect a clue and I thought in this place I would play a song and the contestants would guess the title of the song and if they guessed it correctly I would hand them their next Amazing Race clue. 

After lunch we went to Chapters to browse at books and I looked at a few travel books and then looked with Erin in the children’s section and I tried looking for, and looking up, Mercer Mayer’s Just For You, my favorite childhood book which when I used to read it had a tape with a song.  But I saw a whole shelf of Robert Munsch stories in big style and little style, like Mortimer, the Paper Bag Princess, Murmel, Murmel, Murmel, Thomas’ Snowsuit, I Have To Go, Pigs, and Mud Puddle, and other Munsch favorites I used to read and listen to as a child.   

Then we went to Shoppers to get a Globe and the Mail, excuse the pun, and I browsed at the movies and I liked one which was a 4-movie collection in which one was Bingo, about a circus Border Collie who saves the life of a boy whose father is a pro football player and the dog and the boy become friends for life, and I wanted this. 

Oliver at the beach.

We went home and I watched another PVR recording of an episode of Amazing Race Canada, here set in Sudbury, Ontario. 

After saying goodbye to Erin, Christopher, and Oliver and kissing Oliver, Mom and I went to the bus station and she bought me a ticket to Saint John and I brought my 12-string guitar, so we checked a suitcase and my guitar. 

We watched the train leave while we awaited the boarding of the bus, which happened within minutes, and later we left and I got home safely. 

For details - check out www.patrickdanielmcgrath.com

Bonjour, Quebec City!

Chapter 1: Bonjour, Quebec City! 

With Gray in Quebec City!

Today was Day 1, or in French, la premiere jour.  We packed up the van, set up the 2015 Kia Sedona van’s built-in GPS to lead us to the L’Arche Quebec City L’Arche House at which we were to stay, then took off in 2 vehicles:  a rental Mazda small mini-minivan, and our Kia Sedona, to Quebec City.  On the way we stopped in Woodstock where all these years I thought the farm at which I first picked up Molly was, but I got a text correcting me that it was in Centreville.  But we stopped and picnicked with the whole group.  We later took off and stopped in a Tim Horton’s close to the NB\Quebec Border.  Once we crossed the Border we stopped in a Quebec tourist centre for some info on Quebec City.  We drove some more, watching Hairspray on Maren’s computer.  Within a couple hours we arrived in Quebec City and turned the GPS voice-over on, which guided us to the house we were staying at.  After settling, we watched a video the house’s leader produced.  Then Gray and I walked to a nearby pizza restaurant, ordered pizza, and left, stopping at a Jean Coutu for San Pellegrino and other drinks.  Then we had supper together at our house and watched Kristina’s copy of Mamma Mia on the house’s LG flatscreen.  Then we went to bed. 

Chapter 2: Bus tour, tour d’autobus

Today we woke up, had toast and got in our van, setting up the GPS, which guided us to an underground parking garage near the Chateau Frontenac.  We were to split into 2 groups and one would go on a bus tour and the other would browse and explore the area.  On the way we drove down the street with the McDonald’s where I had the hotcakes and sausages with Dad before meeting Molly but the Archambault where I listened to the listening posts had apparently went out of business a long time ago.  We had a picnic with sandwiches, chips, cheesies, juice, and, of course, our water bottles.  We walked, browsed at a few stores, and paid for and awaited our bus tour.  We boarded the bus, which was a double decker, and sat in the upper level, awaiting the tour.  We drove through Old Quebec as the narrator gave us information on each historical building, landmark, and monument.  After the bus tour Gray and I went into the Frontenac’s lobby and took a picture of me in front of the elevators which Dad and I used to go to our room that October 1999 time, and then we walked to the car...and found a water fountain at which people were walking and running through hoses spraying water, most in bathing suits, and we had a lot of fun!  Tonight we had supper...and watched Stephane’s copy of Mrs. Doubtfire on the flatscreen...and went to bed. 

Chapter 3: Frontenac area revisited

We left...and split into 2 groups again and this time my group was browsing and the other would go on the bus tour.  We picnicked again...and went back to the Frontenac area.   While the other group prepared for the bus tour, we toured the Basilique Notre-Dame de Quebec at which we heard an organ tuning in progress and had Stephane pray for his church friends and family, went to a gift shop where I bought a Quebec City book with photos and information, browsed at some stores, including a department store called Simon’s, walked down the streets in search of a gelato\ice cream store...and found a store at which our group, including Maren who needed a taste of Canadian Maple Taffy before she headed back to Germany, and all had a sample.  We walked further...and I found a Source by Circuit City...and bought a green mist fan, one thing on my wish list.  Then we walked back to the Frontenac area...and stopped at a bakery so all of us could have a Quebec croissant, including Maren.  Then we walked down the street...and found a gelato place and I had the Gateau De Fromage gelato for the first time, which I enjoyed.   Then we went to the underground parking garage...and went home.  That is, our Home Away From Home, which is what I call L’Arche houses in other places where I stay on Vacation or Exchange.  Then after supper I watched Babe on the flat screen, and with the Hi Def, Fly and Rex and the Puppies’ moves were so real it was like reliving the day Molly and I first met on that Centreville horse farm.  Rena, if you see this Blog, I would like you to know a few things:  That in 2006 I lost her at 6 years to a tumor, that I still think of her, that I hope her 3 other sisters from the litter live nice long lives, and that I still look at the photos of her at all stages of her life.  Then we went to bed. 

Chapter 4: Ou Est HMV, Ou Est Archambault? 

Today was Shopping Day!   After breakfast we got in both vehicles, set the GPS systems, and followed the GPS to the mall.  This mall was like Quebec’s version of Edmonton’s West Edmonton Mall and Minneapolis’ Mall of America, as this not only had cool shops and services, but this also had a roller coaster, an ice rink where people could skate/play hockey, an arcade, an amusement park, and a huge IMAX movie theatre with all showings in French, except for Minions or in French, Les Minions, starring the yellow gibberish-speaking characters from Despicable Me.  We gathered, went up an escalator from which we could see the hockey\skating rink (Kristina took the elevator as she was in a wheelchair and did little stairs and no escalators) and within minutes, found HMV.  Here I bought Annie, Mrs. Doubtfire, Pitch Perfect, and Jurassic Park on DVD and Now Party Anthems on CD.  Others made great purchases too.  Then we went down another escalator, while Kristina took an elevator, to a store called Forever 21, specializing in fashion and jewelry, and during that whole time, I tried looking for a sac a dos or backpack, but there was none in sight, and Gray had to take Kristina back to our Home Away From Home while the rest of us did more browsing...and ate at the food court with a view of the amusement park, the skating/hockey rink, and the arcade.   Then we went home.  Then I watched my copy of Pitch Perfect on the flatscreen, enjoying the songs again, and awaiting supper.  Back when I was with family on Stay-cation, we watched that movie with Erin, Christopher, and Jen and Brian on their Samsung flatscreen, with Danny by my side for most of the time.  But I still wanted to do 2 more things:  get a gift for Debbie for her birthday which was the next day, and see Archambault and listen and make a purchase, so later after supper Gray and I left the house, following the GPS back to the Galeries De La Capitale, also known as the Mega Parc.  We went into the mall’s Simon’s which was apparently a chain in Quebec, as earlier we were in one down the road and around the corner from the Basilique Notre Dame de Quebec, and this one was in a mall in a different location.  Here we got a scarf for Debbie which she wanted when we were in the other Simon’s and played with ideas of gifts to give the house we were staying in as a merci for letting us stay in the maison.  Then we looked for a sweet shop and found one on the end of the rink and got Debbie and Jocelyn each a treat bag.  Then we went through Simon’s, got in the car...and drove to the Archambault, which I found in no time!  There they had computerized and 3-disc listening posts so I had to ecoute.  This not only had DVDs, CDs, and books, but there was also an instrument department with pianos, guitars, other instruments, instruction DVDs and music books.  Here I bought Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3, thinking it was 2 and 3 because of the look of the case.  We also bought Debbie a DVD as a gift.  Then we went into a home décor store next door as Gray wanted things for her new apartment and we played with ideas for the house.  Tonight, once we went home, we watched my new DVD, which showed a CGI Chloe the Chihuahua playing classical music on a hotel’s piano twice, once slowly, and once up-tempo. 

Chapter 5:  Poissons et Oursoms de Polar a L’Aquarium

At the Aquarium

Today we were to go to the Aquarium and there were amphitheatres like in Free Willy where Jesse is assigned to clean off graffiti after being caught by cops for vandalism and stealing restaurant food and a caterer’s cake with his friends and makes friends with the whale of the title.  Then and there I wondered if the whale tank draining scene was just CGI like the Jaws shark and the Jurassic Park dinosaurs and that amphitheatre is the same one in Free Willy.  Here we saw all kinds of sea life, 2 polar bears, some seals, and a walrus.  Here we picnicked, got a tour...and went home to get changed as while we were outside it poured rain, cleared up, poured rain, cleared up, and poured rain some more.  Kristina sat this outing out and it occurred to us she may not have been feeling well, which worried me.  Tonight we went back downtown or uptown (Monctonians call downtown “downtown”, and some Saint Johners like me call downtown “uptown”) and got some gelato (I got Gateau de Fromage) and we searched the downtown area for a restaurant, stopping in Notre Dame churches for a tour during which Stephane prayed to himself for his church friends.  After a short walk we found a pizza place called Pizz. I got the Hawaiian Pizza with a San Pellegrino Limonata as did someone else.  I ordered in French as I had been practicing my French skills for this entire trip.  Then we found the car...and went to our H.A.F.H. (Home Away From Home) 

Chapter 6: Bienvenue, Andreanne, et Bonne Fete, Debbie!

Today was Debbie’s Birthday and she wanted a pancake breakfast for her birthday.  And Andreanne visited us from Montreal.  BTW, Andreanne was an Assistant in 2011/2012 and was with us on Vacation, McKin-Mas, said goodbye to me when I went to Atlanta with John O’Donnell, Jocelyn, and Don Dickson, and went with me and a few people to hockey games.  She joined us at our table.  After breakfast we sang Happy Birthday to Debbie, gave her a cake to blow out the candle...and gave her the birthday gifts which we had bought 2 nights ago.  Then we relaxed...and went downtown just one more time.   Here we parked by the Terminale de Croisiere, and went to a few shops.  Today some of us went to a few shops, had a few of us, including Maren, but except for me, try a Beaver Tail, which was like a giant donut sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, another Canadian delicacy, and went to the Farmer’s Market, where Krista, who now had a sore hip, had a Diet Pepsi, and Gray had a San Pellegrino Aranciata, and looked around for oven mitts for the house as a merci gift without luck.  Then we took the Funiculaire, which was the train-like elevator that leads from way below the Frontenac to the area, which was so much fun.   Then we went to the gelato shop in the Frontenac AGAIN and I, once again, had the Gateau de Fromage in a waffle cone and others had the same thing.  Then Gray, Stephane, and I, all went to the Basilique Notre-Dame de Quebec for a Mass in French, which was on Stephane’s wish list and I shared this wish, as finding an all-English mass in Quebec City was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.  But I enjoyed this too with the music from the organ, and I donated $2 to the church.  After this we went to the first Simon’s, which was my idea, and looked for oven mitts and other kitchen accessories, as their current ones were not very good.  We bought some with pictures of lobsters to remind them that we were from New Brunswick, home of Shediac, dubbed “The Lobster Capital of the World”.  Then we took the Funiculaire again for the way back...and drove home...while at home Debbie and the others were thinking of places to eat for her Birthday.  She wanted nachos like she gets when she goes to a local Saint John restaurant called Thandi’s, so we walked, while some drove, from the house...to a Mexican Restaurant.  Here we were celebrating 2 things:  of course Debbie’s Birthday, and our last day of a successful, all-dream-filled vacation in Quebec City.  I had chicken nachos minus the onions with a Pina Colasa minus the alcohol.  Others had Mexican favorites.  Then the waiters, holding a cake, sang Happy Birthday and some of us added harmonies.  Then we went home...and straight to bed after our meds were taken, as it was a little after 10:00pm and next morning we had to pack up, clean the house, and head home! 

Chapter 7: Au Revoir, Quebec City!

Enjoying the drive

We indeed had breakfast packed up, cleaned the house, made sure we had everything...and headed home, saying good-bye to Quebec.  On the way we stopped at Subway for lunch for all different subs.  As a note, the Subway chain was Krista’s favorite place as she always says this was healthy with lots of veggies to choose from, compared to McDonald’s and burger places.  Then we drove some more, watching one of Kristina’s new DVDs, the 2014 update of Annie which we watched at the theatre the previous Winter after my New York Christmas, and I recognized the places shot in the movie from being there, and I was amazed at the size of the building where Annie stays with her adopted family.  Once we crossed the border we stopped at Tim Horton’s and we had snacks and I ordered in French. Then we went home a little after 10:00, unpacking our things and sending the rental car back to Enterprise.  

Camp Wildwood 2015

    June 11th, 2015: Bus Day

Driving to camp with dad.

    I took the 10:30 bus to Moncton from Saint John, which got in at 12:50. 

    Mom picked me up in the BMW wagon, which had been in Mom’s possession since 2011. 

    Then we went home and had lunch...and then headed to Jennifer’s to see Brennan and Connor and congratulate Brennan on his graduation, and tell him my regrets that despite his efforts to get me tickets to the graduation and see that I get there I wouldn’t make it to the ceremony. 

    Brennan, if you see this Blog, I want to, once again, express my congratulations on the graduation and I am sorry I could not make it to the ceremony and I enjoyed your yearbooks and the jam session with your friends. 

    Then we looked at Brennan’s and Connor’s yearbook from 2015 and it had some great pictures, not only of him and Connor, but of the musical they put on before Christmas, sporting events from Saint John High School and the home games, news flashes about trends, like Top-40 songs, world news, commercialization, and TV and movies. 

    Tonight we decided to celebrate Father’s Day with Dad, a week before the actual day since I would not be in Moncton then, with fish and chips, San Pellegrino, and berries and yogurt.   

    June 12, 2015: Arrival Day

    This morning Mom and I drove to Champlain Place so as I could get my haircut at Cut 2000. 

Construction workers were working on Crystal Palace, which used to be an indoor amusement park, but closed down and was making way for a Bass Pro shop. 

While I got my haircut I had a long chat with the barber about Camp Wildwood and she said she was there before many times. 

Then we went to HMV and Mom bought me the Men in Black collection, which had MIB and MIIB.  (1 and 2) 

On the way home we tried to get Brian a birthday gift of a Cineplex gift card but they were closed. 

    We took a quick stop at a new Moncton store that specialized in outdoor/hunting supplies like guns and outfits, and Mom and I had to steer outta there after a quick browse because of the cruelty in the store, like moose and deer on the wall and statues made out of real bears and wildlife! 

    When Dad got home we packed things like my backpack with books and camp supplies inside, my suitcase with the clothes, my sleeping bag, and my 12-string guitar, all into the back of Mom and Dad’s new car. 

Then we went into the car and headed for Camp Wildwood, and I enjoyed the drive in this new car. 

I was hoping the Mason & Risch upright piano would still be there which I played in the summers of ’95 and ’96. 

Unfortunately, it was gone. 

On a happy note, though, my co-campers were co-workers from METS and one classmate from Riverview High from my grad class, named Carla.  And as an added bonus, 2 people there had a Golden Retriever/Husky mix dog named Max, who stayed with me for most of the weekend. 

I set up the sleeping bag in one of the new refurbished cabins. 

They had the same names, but were in new cabins. 

We played games such as “duck, duck, goose” and musical chairs. 

Then we had Vespers, snack, and campfire with camp songs and songs, and then we went to bed. 

    June 13, 2015: Day 2 

    We woke up to a gourmet breakfast with pancakes and cereal.  Here we sang graces like Johnny Appleseed, a grace in the tune of the Superman theme, and a grace to the tune of the Spiderman theme. 

In the summers of ’95 and ’96 we would sing these graces too. 

When I went to Camp Centennial when I was just a young kid and we had just got the gray Jeep Cherokee and PBS was playing Lamb Chop’s Play Along and kids would, out of nowhere, sing The Song That Doesn’t End from that show, we campers would sing Johnny Apple Seed loudly for lunch and yell “JOHNNY APPLE SEED!” at the top of our lungs.

Then we used Play-Doh to do some artwork.  Then we had a campfire during which we made S’mores, and I had mine minus the chocolate. 

We had lunch together in the lodge. 

Then we had some relaxing time during which I planned my songs for this evening’s talent show and to practice them in the basement where another Mason & Risch piano which was badly out of tune also used to be in ’95 and ’96, but this was also gone. 

Here I knocked around a bunch of ideas, like Mud on the Tires and Find Yourself by Brad Paisley, In Summer from Frozen, Dancing Queen from Mamma Mia, The Hockey Song by the late Stompin’ Tom Connors, Twist and Shout, Brian Wilson, and other songs I had learned since the last time I was here. 

Then we swam in the pool, which was very different from the one pictures of me there in ’95 and ’96, and this pool had basketball nets, so I took part in a game. 

Then after I changed from my bathing suit to the clothes I had on before swimming, the tuck shop opened.  I had Ruffles Sour Cream & Bacon chips. 

After this I went back to the basement of the lodge with my guitar and practiced my songs for the Talent Show tonight. 

After practicing supper came. 

Then the Talent Show came up. 

Here when I came up, I played The Hockey Song for the Stanley Cup Playoffs watchers and fans, and Dancing Queen from Mamma Mia the musical and movie. 

Then we had Vespers. 

Then we had campfire with singing, snack in the lodge, and bedtime.  ​

    June 14th, 2015: Home Day

Relaxing at mom and dad's house.

    Today was Home Day.  We had breakfast with cereal and bagels and yogurt and fruit. 

    Then Praise Craze came and then we played more games like Duck, Duck, Goose, Simon Says, Dance Freeze, and other fun camp games. 

    Then we had lunch. 

    Then we packed up our cabins so when the parents/caretakers came to have supper with us and take us campers home our things would be ready.   

    Then we played more games. 

    Then parents and caretakers came and joined us for supper and dessert. 

    Within minutes Mom and Dad showed up in their new car.  They joined us for supper and dessert...and grabbed my things, packed it in the car...and took me home and then we went to Jen and Brian’s for a time with friends of Brennan’s, who was graduating from Bernice MacNaughton High School, quite a short time after the year I graduated from Riverview High School and then got Molly, during which Brennan was a toddler, making fire truck and train sounds and filling in the blanks for songs and stories. 

    Among the friends were Heath, who was in my grad class from Bessborough in summer ’95, and a few other school friends. 

    We got Brennan and Connor to play guitar while I played for a jam session.  Then I played a song for the guests.  ​

    June 15, 2015: Border Collie Time, The Journey Home 

Border collie bliss.

    The next day Jen’s friend Charlotte showed up with 4 of her Border Collies, and one of them, Bliss, and Ella, really love each other.  They were hilarious together, and Jen, Charlotte, Mom, and I took all of them, Danny, Bliss, Ella, and Charlotte’s other 3 Border Collies, for a walk. 

Back in Thanksgiving Weekend Charlotte lent me a movie called Away to Me, and as any Border Collie lover who has read Nop’s Trials, Nop’s Hope, and Eminent Dogs, Dangerous Men, can tell, it’s about sheepherding trials and when I watched it I loved it.  Weeks later she had Jennifer mail it to me. 

Charlotte, if you see this Blog, I would like you to know I am still enjoying that DVD. 

    That night, with a packed lunch which included a chicken wrap, an apple, a banana, Fruit to Go bars, and a San Pellegrino in my backpack, I took the 5:00 bus back to Saint John and when I got home I got out my Riverview High School and Harrison Trimble High School yearbooks and looked at my class photos and photos of me with the guitar and at sporting events. 

Then I had Hampton Bible Camp, Quebec City, some family time including seeing Stephanie, Glen, Erin, Christopher, Oliver, Melody, Matt, Emily, Clare, and Uncle Bill, and Faith and Sharing, all to look forward to! 

Bill, if you see this Blog, I am sorry I cannot make the Treasure Hunt to read the clues and finish the night with guitar playing and music. 

To the rest of my sisters, I look forward to seeing you in the summer months, and I hope I get to swim in Upper Cape and stay in the cottage and/or see it, since I never made it there last summer. 

    Then I sent a story of Dad to Stephanie for the Blog, which appeared on it with a video of me interviewing Dad and singing one of our Dump Songs and Dad giving the advice about Datsun or Nissan, that “hoods fly up.” 

A Story About My Father

When my Mom picked me up in the Volvo 240 Wagon on Adoption Day, later Dad showed up in our 2nd car: a red Datsun Pickup. 

(As a note, like Dad states in the video, NEVER buy a Nissan.  Hoods fly up! )

My Dad and I took frequent drives in that truck to the dump, oftentimes singing the songs I Had a Dog, High Hopes and Swinging on a Star and listening to CBC’s program Swinging on a Star on that truck’s radio. 

Sometimes with my family, as stated in the Adoption Story, we took camping and hotel trips in our 3rd car: a brown Ford Van with tape player (the Volvo and the Datsun had American Graffiti- style radios with no tape players and too early for Bluetooth and i-Pods and i-Pads and i-Phones and MP3 files). 

Now for the Dad phrases.  One was “Thank you, thank you, thank you so much!”  Another one is “I don’t like Nissan cars or Datsun.  Hoods fly up.”   

I am thankful for all the things we did together from the start. Have a wonderful Father's Day, dad! See you soon!

My L’Arche Friends

L'Arche Saint John celebrating at the 10th Anniversary Dinner. 

Gray Gillies, an Assistant from L’Arche Saint John, has helped me with healthy choices, been with me to Toronto for the last Autism Symposium, has been with me for a few vacations, and was with me for most celebrations.  She and I cook together sometimes and she took part in the concert at Imperial Theatre and she was with us for 50 Fest.  She was with us for the Growth ad Goals Meeting on Tuesday, May 26, 2015.  She and I were together on my first Exchange to Antigonish and I shopped at Superstore with listening stations, visited other houses, and attended mass at St. Ninian’s Cathedral, on the campus of St. F. X.  A future wish is, to honor Gram, since most of my family, except for me, has been to a Blue Jays home game, is that she and I go to Toronto to catch a home game with my Blue Jays water bottle and a poster that reads L’Arche Saint John loves the Blue Jays so if a Sports Net camera shows us L’Arche friends and family can see us, then we’d get worldwide publicity.  And maybe we can stay in Royal York or Gamble House again.  And maybe I could get my water bottle autographed by Jays past and present and a Blue Jays book about their present and past players and their past successes. 

Gray at a listening station

Jocelyn Worster, the Community Leader, also has helped me with healthy choices, has been with me for Atlanta 2012 and 50 Fest and a few Vacations, and has been to things like Epiphany Concerts, the recent Imperial Theatre concert, the recent 10th Anniversary Dinner at KV Church, AGMs, and other L’Arche Atlantic Region celebrations, like 25th and 30th Anniversaries.  She was at our Growth and Goals Meeting on May 26th.

Victoria Woods, who prefers to be called Vic, was with us for McKim-Mas, and she and I have been good shopping friends together.  She was with us for the 10th Anniversary Supper at KV Church and in fall took part in our number in the concert at Imperial Theatre, which was Hakuna Matata from The Lion King.  She and I cook together sometimes.  She joined us for the Growth and Goals Meeting on May 26th.

Maren (I don’t know how to spell her last name) is one of many of our Assistants from Germany, and she and I also have shopped together and she and I are usually the duo who goes to the Loch Lomond Villa on most Fridays if it is Gray’s Day or Weekend Away or Vacation.  She was with us for the recent 10th Anniversary Supper at KV Church.  She and I cook sometimes.  Maren takes some of us to Zumba on some Wednesdays. 

Brandon Lanteigne and I have shopped together, been to a Sea Dogs game with Stephane, have been to O’Leary’s together, have been to special things like Christmas parties and art days, to church together, and shared a room at the Chocolate Lake Hotel in Halifax for 50 Fest.  He was with us for the recent 10th Anniversary Supper.  He took part in singing Hakuna Matata from The Lion King for the concert at Imperial Theatre and he was at The Sound of Music at Imperial Theatre and Anne of Green Gables at St. Malachy’s Memorial High School with us.  He takes some of us to Zumba on Mondays, though he sits it out and works on his computer. 

Debbie Turnbull and I have been on most Vacations together, summer camps at Hampton Bible Camp, 50 Fest, the concert at Imperial Theatre, Good Shepherd Church, Epiphany Concerts, Faith and Sharing Retreats, the recent 10th Anniversary Supper at KV Church, The Sound of Music at Imperial Theatre, and Anne of Green Gables at St. Mac’s High School.  Years back she joined Gray and me for Fiddler on the Roof at Harbour View High School.  She is in the In Key Choir at Key Industries with me and joins me for Zumba classes on Mondays and some Wednesdays. 

Kristina Cooper, though she cannot speak, has ways to communicate.  When we ask her questions, when she raises her eyebrows, that means yes or that she is happy or excited about something coming up or she is looking forward to.  She has movies in her room that I like.  She has been with me for some vacations, most of the ones where Janet Christy was with us, and she was at 50 Fest and all AGM’s. 

Krista Simmons has almost the same taste in movies and music I do.  We both like the movies Frozen, High School Musical, Camp Rock, Princess Protection Program, and any movie, as long as there is no nudity or cuss words.  She likes country and Disney music, though she likes some of the music they play at Zumba classes we dance to.  She goes to Camp Rotary in summer. 

Stephane Bastarache, originally from Bouctouche, can play guitar and sing hymns, but he cannot play chords, so he sings and goes strum strum strum... on open notes with no fingers.   He prays for priests, the Saint John area bishop, Raise up an Army, his KI and prayer meeting friends, and any problems in the news or with his family and friends.  He plays Wii Bowling on certain days.  He also goes to Hampton Bible Camp with me in summer and winter.  He and I have been to hockey and basketball games together.  We go to and watch movies together.  He is also a member of Key Industries’ In Key Choir. 

Justine (I forgot her last name), from Kenya, taught us some Swahili, like Karibu means “Welcome”.  She and I traveled on Community Exchange to Antigonish close to Halloween not last October, but the October before, and we went to a Halloween Dance, shopped at Wal-mart where I bought Home Alone 2, visited other houses, and went to a couple beaches together.  Last summer she joined us for Community Vacation, also in Antoginish, and we got a tour of St. F. X., where Jennifer, Brian, Dad, and Mom, all graduated from University and I had seen their varsity basketball team play at Halifax Metro Centre various times, 3 times with my Mom, once with Janet Christy, and once with Blake Cameron before I moved out of their house and later lost Molly and later got Ella and later moved into L’Arche Saint John.  All of a sudden, out of nowhere, she moved back to Kenya and I wish she’d come back. 

Janet Christy, from Gujarat, India, has been with us for Community Vacations, stepped in as House Leader after Marilyn Moore retired, helped me make healthy choices, and taught us her language, which is in fact called Gujarati.  For example, Mito ane Marie, means “salt and pepper”.  Supratri means in fact “good night.”  Kem Chho and Mazama means “Hello” and “How are you doing?”  Oujo (spelt correctly, Janet?) means “goodbye”.  When she was with us for vacation, the songs she chose for the mix CD, dubbed “Babe Mix”, were both funny and catchy. 

Tiago Ortega, (sorry High School Musical and Dirty Dancing fans, no relation to Kenny the choreographer) from Toronto, was with us for 2 short times:  Once for summer, and once for 2 Christmases seasons ago.  He joined us for Vacation in Antigonish 2 summers ago where we visited other houses and went to beaches where I saw a couple of Border Collies playing Frisbee with their handler, was at Mama George’s Restaurant with us on Canada Day which was the first time I tried clams, and took me shopping before McKim-Mas by bus so I could get a Sony Dream Machine clock radio with 7 time zones and Auto DST option and to buy a DVD.  Some of his favorite movies, also some of mine, included Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Tommy Boy. 

Sophia (I forget her last name), from Germany, was with us for Sea Dogs games, Vacation, McKim-Mas, Epiphany Concerts, movie nights, and snow days. 

Silvana Springer (sorry comedy fans, no relation to Jerry, right?) is also from Germany.  The adventures together for us included my first curling match, last summer’s vacation, Epiphany concerts, and McKim-Mas. 

Anna Bingel, also from Germany, took me and Krista a few times to my first Zumba classes, joined us for the Vacation in Cape Breton, was with us for McKim-Mas and Epiphany Concert, and loved Bob Marley and Eva Cassidy.  She loved to sing Someone like You by Adele, though sometimes she could not sing the high C# originally sung in the chorus. 

Andreanne Grondin, from Quebec, had a friend/relative who took us to the Hilton room he was staying at and I got to see Alpine Country Star in progress on the boardwalk from the 10th floor room and watch the LG flat screen.  She also joined us for Community Vacation in Cape Breton.  

My relationship with Mom

Mom and I go grocery shopping, to basketball and hockey games, on walks with our dogs, sometimes to Toronto by air for the Autism Symposium, school and major theatre musicals (by “major” I mean the Toronto musicals The Lion King and Mamma Mia), sometimes movie theatres, and other fun things. 

She helps me make good choices, like as a child, she helped me with the big fixations by teaching me how to control them with help from teachers and Teachers Assistants.  When I was in school she was present for every choir concert, band concert, coffee house, variety show, and graduation.  When grocery shopping I would help her by going to a certain aisle for a certain item for her and carrying the bags in when we got home.  These days when I go home for a weekend or celebration or summer holiday Mom and I constantly play Take 2 and Scrabble and I school her big time most times! 

When I met Mom the first day she and Erin picked me up to go to their house I thought she was fun to be with, just like with the rest of the family.  Mom means a lot to me because of the things we do and did together and the things she did for me, like work out the odd trip, buy me and help me buy Christmas and birthday gifts without the recipients getting an early peek through the almost-see-through plastic bags, researching L’Arche Saint John so I could move here, taking me to restaurants now and then both home and away, and being present for every school concert, play and graduation, most church concerts while I was in the Immaculate Heart of Mary and Holy Family churches, and most Epiphany plays in Saint John.  

What Autism Means to Me

Autism is a condition some people are born with that causes things like fixations and obsessions.  Autistics also say some very odd things, like I did, which will come up later in this document.  I want to help people understand Autism, its advantages, and its challenges so if they have a child and find out from a doctor that he/she is autistic, then they can get some resources to help understand.  My recommendations are that people trying to understand this condition buy and watch the movie Rain Man, buy all of Temple Grandin’s books and her movie starring Romeo + Juliet’s Claire Danes as Temple. 

Working on stories about my life. 

Most autistic people have good memories. 

For example, if you watch Rain Man, the title character, in fact an autistic savant, has a great memory. 

He recites Abbott & Costello’s Who’s on First whenever he is nervous several times, and when the waitress drops the toothpicks on the floor he counts them in seconds to 246 toothpicks, and in the airport scene where he freaks out he announces all the plane crashes and that “QANTAS Never Crashed.” 

He also knows the address of the Kmart in which he buys his underwear, Oak & Burnett, to be exact, “400 Oak Street.” 

I have a great memory of what I saw the first time the Volvo 240 Wagon took me to Hillsborough, my adoption day, what I saw on my first day of school in Grade 1, school years, trips with family that involved camping and hotels and shopping, my Camp Centennial years, the TV shows I watched as a child like Camp Caribou, Lamb Chop’s Play Along, Get Smart, Batman, Power Rangers, and movies I watched as a child like Looney Tunes tapes, Disney movies such as Homeward Bound and The Mighty Ducks, and animated favorites like Peter Pan, Robin Hood, Dumbo, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and other favorites, my first years of high school, my Camp Wildwood years, when I saw Babe that Easter of 96 when I loved Fly and Rex the sheepdogs, Molly’s birth date and arrival date, the date I moved into L’Arche, some information Temple Grandin gave at the first Symposium Mom and I attended, like how bullies called her “Tape Recorder” because she was constantly repeating the same stuff over and over again. 

With autism also comes challenges. 

One is fixations and obsessions.  Fixations are things where someone autistic focuses on one thing for a long time and thinks and talks about that one thing so much it drives other people trying to understand autism up the wall.  I used to say silly things like “It’s a garbage bag” and “It’s a Kraft Dinner”.  I have no idea why I said the Kraft Dinner thing.  I suppose this came with autism, same reason Rain Man recites Who’s on First and keeps saying “I need to get my boxer shorts in Kmart in Cincinnati, 400 Oak Street, these are Hanes 32, mine are boxer shorts,” “4 Minutes to Wapner,” and “26 Minutes to Jeopardy,” which drives Charlie Babbitt up the wall so much he is forced to stop in a small town and find a doctor to find out the nature of Raymond’s condition and how this happened. 

I also used to count down the microwave’s timer to 0 like it’s a rocket takeoff from space shows my foster brothers Cal and Ray used to watch on TV. 

Once again, fixations and obsessions come standard with Autism.  Another thing was that in the 80s, cars like the Plymouth Reliant, Olds 98 and Royale, Pontiac Parisienne, Chevrolet Caprice Classic, and Buick Roadmaster, all had the logo on the trunk slide to reveal the keyhole to the trunk which I found very neat and I used to play with it, curious which way it opened to reveal the keyhole, which scared Mom and Dad because what if the car backed up and the driver did not see me? 

Another thing, once again a fixation with Autism, was a couple of days back in school at Bessborough after Christmas in Grade 3 I would move my thumbs as if I was playing Super Mario Bros. on our Nintendo which we had gotten for Christmas, which was distracting to the teacher, TA, and fellow students, so I was cut off from that for some time. 

I can quote movies and other friends.  I can also play guitar, piano, and also work on the computer, and text on my BlackBerry. 

A friend of the family’s is also autistic and also lives in a L’Arche home. 

He can quote movies and other friends. 

Whenever he sees me, he clearly says: “Your parents are Ed and Marlene, your sisters are Erin, Stephanie, Melody, and Jennifer, and your nieces are Emily and Clare, and your nephews are Brennan, Connor, and Oliver, your dogs are Ella, Sprocket, Liza, Lupin, Danny…” etc.   

When he quotes The Santa Clause, he says: “You’re as healthy as a horse.  Yeah… like a Clydesdale” 

As a child he used to rewind movies to see a scene or hear a line or sound over and over again. 

Ideas and Awareness

My ideas are that Temple Grandin should visit Saint John, Halifax, and all the towns/cities my family lives and visit us.  I also think we should make a movie based on my life as an Autistic person.  We should also, as a family, with my L’Arche Saint John friends, prepare an Autism speech of our own for a future Geneva Centre Autism Symposium in Toronto. 

People can be more supportive of people with Autism by helping them make good choices, taking the person to a doctor or something to try to understand what caused Autism to enter the person, or give the person a dog to keep them company and help the person, provided the person is not allergic and the home the person lives in allows dogs to live in the house or home.  

Carry The Dream: Atlanta 2012

John O’Donnell and I were to go to Mobile, AL., for a weekend, and then to Atlanta for a L’Arche International Assembly.  The day John O’Donnell and I met for the big trip I was met with a surprise:  He and I were to take a night at a hotel near the Airport.  And it was so.  We took a room at the Halifax Airport Comfort Inn.  I swam in the hotel’s indoor pool and went to bed that night. 

The day we woke up we took a shuttle to the Halifax Stanfield International Airport from where we were to take not 1, not 2, but THREE different planes (thank God all jets) to Toronto, to Atlanta, and then to Mobile.  We went through security without so much as a chirp.  We boarded plane #1 of 3.  In no time we took off and in no time we landed at Pearson International Airport.  Here we were to fill out a US Customs & Border Protection declaration that declared purpose of trip, age, address, whether or not we were carrying fruits, vegetables, or forbidden things, and reason for trip, and then go through Customs before going through security.  We went through US Customs successfully, and then checked our bags again, and then proceeded to our gate only to discover that plane #2 was experiencing mechanical difficulties, and so we were diverted from the original designated gate to another one.  Due to the delay we missed the connecting Delta plane to Mobile.  We booked another one, boarded that one, and landed in Mobile at 10:10 pm Central.   There were people there to pick us up. 

Day 1 in the U.S. we took a drive to the Mardi Gras Museum in Mobile and saw exhibits that told us Mobile was the birthplace of Mardi Gras parades.  Then we took a drive to a house with a pool; a beach nearby; and a Bel Air-style house.  We had a BBQ and a swim. 

The next day we took a drive as a 3-rental-car convoy to Atlanta and on the way we stopped at the Cracker Barrel Restaurant.  A friend took my camera and took a picture of me holding a case of glass bottles of Coca-Cola, the reason being I read in my Atlanta Book that Coca-Cola was invented in Atlanta.  Soon we got to the Agnes Scott College, set up, and I went with my driver to the Airport so as he could return the rental car, and the 2 of us took MARTA (the city’s transit train) back to the College.  We had our opening ceremonies and our theme song was called “Carry The Dream”, written by John Coleman, inspired by Martin Luther King, Junior’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech.  All the songs during this week were beautiful.  I met lots of friends from all across the world.   

The next day we had a couple assemblies and a Catholic mass in both English and French.  Other days we had church services of all kinds.  We also went to church services at a Presbyterian Church and an Episcopal Church.  The assemblies we went to were spoken in English, French, and Spanish.  We had radios with headphones that translated to English French and Spanish, like say words and prayers were spoken in French or Spanish, we could listen to it in English nonetheless.  That was helpful.  Every night from that night on we had pub nights, and we had 7 pub nights in a row.   John and I went to Decatur CD store and I purchased the DVDs Like Mike, Space Jam, and Beethoven/Beethoven’s 2nd Double Feature, along with the CDs Black Eyed Peas The E.N.D. and The Black Eyed Peas The Beginning, all for great prices.

On our final full day in Atlanta we went on a bus tour on a school bus to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, with education about how before “I Have A Dream” people were separated from each other because of their races, cultures, colors, religions, faiths, and abilities, which I already knew about after being in STAR (Students Against Racism), and learning about the World Wars, at Catholic Church to which Dr. King went; got a tour of a museum; and listened to a gospel choir from Mobile singing beautiful songs like O Happy Day, We Shall Overcome, and other gospel favorites.  They then played a video of Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech.  The next day the same gospel choir sang at our assembly at the College. 

After the final night in Atlanta we said goodbye to our new friends; took the bus to the MARTA Station; took a MARTA Train to the Atlanta Airport; tried to find the ticketing agent; checked our bags; boarded plane #1 of 2 planes, which took off in no time and took us to Pearson Airport.  We went through Canadian Customs and connected planes to plane #2 to Halifax Airport.  We stayed in L’Arche Halifax the day we landed.  At Toronto Airport I had purchased the CD Mumford & Sons Sigh No More.  ​

The next day we drove to Saint John, and that was the end of the journey, and therefore,  the end of the story. 

Perfect Pitch: How I Got to Know Music

Music is important to me because it makes me remember old times or new memories, depending the song I play or hear.  

Playing music with Melody in the summer of 2013 in Moncton. 

How the music I listen to makes me feel is as follows. 

When I listen to both Huey Lewis albums we used to listen to it makes me want to go back to the years we were in Hillsborough with the Volvo 240 wagon, the Datsun pickup, and the Ford van. 

When I listen to the big Dirty Dancing CD that combines both tapes I think of myself back on a camping trip with the McGrath family and our dogs playing my guitar. 

When I listen to The Big Chill and Stand By Me soundtracks I picture myself in the Boston and Halifax hotels we stayed in as kids, swimming in the pool, enjoying the hotel and city’s great cuisine and shopping, and just enjoying the drive.  

When I Discovered Music

On my first visit to my Mom’s house before my adoption (see full story in my Adoption Story) I saw the house had a Mason & Risch piano. 

I opened it and played a few notes. Melody taught me which key corresponds to which note. 

When I went to school there were so many pianos.  One, in the adjacent room to my classroom, was a whole note flat, so if you played a C chord you get a B flat chord. 

The music room also had a Yamaha piano. 

There were a few in the hallway, and there were 2 on stage in the gym: one upright and one grand. 

When the music teacher played O Canada and got us to sing it I picked it up, and the moment I got home I went to the downstairs piano and played it exactly like I heard it. 

I had a ukulele and was playing this a lot. 

The summer between grades 1 and 2 I noticed mosquitoes would buzz in the same note at night when they attempted to bite my ear, an F#.  

One day I went to school…and came back home to a surprise:  Dad had bought a new piano:  a Tadashi upright that looked identical to the Yamaha in the music room.  Now we had 2 pianos:  The Mason & Risch in the downstairs room…and a Tadashi in the living room where the woodstove, stereo, turtle tank, and Christmas tree were. 

In addition to playing music on these instruments and singing and in school, we listened to tapes with music:  Huey Lewis & The News’ Sports and Fore albums, Mike & Michele, Sharon Lois & Bram, Raffi, both Dirty Dancing soundtracks, the Big Chill soundtrack, the Stand By Me soundtrack, and Lionel Richie Dancing on the Ceiling album. 

From grades 11 and 12 on I was singing in church choirs and still am. 

I can now play popular songs like Frozen songs, stuff from the local radio stations, and the Sister Act up-tempo arrangement of Hail Holy Queen and lots of church anthems and hymns. 

Music is a huge part of my life now. I sang in 4 church choirs in Moncton. In Saint John I am part of 2 choirs: the Key Industries Choir and the Our Lady of the Assumption Church Senior Choir, and I have sung lots of songs away, including 50 Fest in Halifax, retreats both home and Nova Scotia, and the Atlanta 2012 Assembly.  (See this story in a future Blog.)  

The Days of Molly’s Life

Chapter 1: The Phone Call

Molly as a puppy with Simon, our Golden Retriever 

My last relatives were about to board the plane after Melody and Matt Taylor’s wedding. 

At breakfast I took the paper and opened it up to the classifieds.  On the Pets/Supplies section I saw this intriguing ad:

BORDER COLLIE PUPS.  IMPORTED PARENT.  BRED FOR FAMILIES/FARMS.  BLACK\WHITE, TRI-COLOR.  EXC. TEMP.  VET CHECKED.  APP. HOMES ONLY.  READY NOV. 12.   

I picked up the phone and dialed the number shown on the ad. 

The lady on the other end sounded about Jennifer’s age and cheerful. 

I asked about the puppies. 

She said there were 4 puppies, 2 of each color style, all female.  One of each was, in Cesar Milan’s words, “In the calm-assertive state”, and one of each was dominant. 

I gave Mom the phone, went downstairs, and played the guitar while Mom talked to the lady. 

Minutes later Mom came back down, the phone still on. 

I took the receiver and put it to my ear. 

What she said got me excited:

“Congratulations, Patrick!  You have just gotten yourself a Border Collie puppy!” 

After this I got the guitar and happily played my grad song!  Had this happened at the time I am writing this I would have played all the peppy songs from High School Musical 1, 2, and 3. 

Word of this spread all over my family and friends. 

I named this puppy Molly, after a Border Collie I saw on an agility match on tape before Melody’s wedding. 

Chapter 2:  The Puppy Pre-Look

For those of you who read and watched Marley & Me, this may sound similar to what you see and read when John and Jenny go to the farm to see the lab puppies to pick out Marley before going to the IHOP, except Marley was a boisterous mischievous Labrador pup and Molly was a gentle Border Collie pup who would not harm anyone or anything. 

My Dad and I went to Quebec City for CACL conferences and stay at the Chateau Frontenac. 

I browsed at the local CD/DVD/VHS store Archambault, swam in the hotel’s pool, and watched TV and a Pay Per View movie on the hotel’s RCA 19” TV.

But the turning point was our trip home as we stopped at the farm where Molly was born. 

I was expecting to see some sheep or at least some livestock for the dogs to herd.  Dillon’s birth farm had some sheep. 

But there were horses, and not a single ewe, ram, or lamb in sight. 

The lady, named Rena MacLean, and a man who looked like Tim McGraw in Flicka, came to us, with 2 Border Collies and a black Labrador at their side. 

The smaller Border Collie, a tri-color, was Molly’s mother Clan. 

The bigger black and white Border Collie, kind of big for one, was Carlton, Molly’s Father. 

Rena then showed us a demonstration on how the 2 dogs would herd the horses the way these dogs would normally herd sheep. 

After the demo they led us, the 3 dogs at their side, to a basement. 

In the basement was a big box. 

In the box were 4 adorable Border Collie pups.  I picked out the calm black and white and picked her up. 

As soon as I picked her up she started licking my face as if to say “Please take me home!” which warmed my heart. 

My love of Border Collies started in Grade 9 when I first saw Babe and fell in love with Fly and Rex, the Border Collies who take the pig of the title under their paw and teach him how to herd sheep like them. 

Since seeing Molly I watched the above movie a lot. 

Chapter 3:  Molly’s Arrival/Wonderful Events

With Molly as a Puppy

November 12th, the date posted on the ad, finally arrived.

When night came, a dark gray Oldsmobile sedan pulled up. 

The lady came, Clan at her side, and Brandy, our across-the-street neighbor’s Scottish Terrier, started barking wildly until Mrs. Barkhouse had to take her in. 

MacLean came to me, Molly in her arms, and put her in my arms! 

Jennifer’s Jeep was still there, so I took Molly to a 2-year-old Brennan Kent, who said “Hi, Molly.  Good girl,” and fell asleep. 

I took her  in the house and introduced her to Chico, our 2nd Cocker Spaniel, Mabel, Melody’s Golden Retriever, and Emma, Mom’s first Bearded Collie, like Tim Allen’s character Dave Douglas turns into after getting bitten by the 300-year-old Tibet Beardie in the 2006 remake of The Shaggy Dog.  

This made the following events even more exciting, as with anyone with their first real dog. 

I saw Erin in the musical The King and I in the role of Tuptim, the same role Melody had 10 years ago. 

Then Melody and Matt had me spend a weekend with them in Kentville, Nova Scotia, and I brought Babe, Christmas movies, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. 

After this I came home and Molly was happy to see me. 

Christmas came up.  Here I got the CDs Much Dance 2000, Superstar, and Grammy Nominees 2000.  I also got a teal Timex Ironman watch with the new display and the CD of the soundtrack to Mame and the VHS The Santa Clause.  

Chapter 4:  The New Year

After the celebrations, back to routines, but boy, was I glad to be over school and homework, and boy, was I glad to have Molly!  Plus it is fun having Christmas and my Birthday, in fact January 7th, so close to each other! 

My Birthday, indeed, came, and me and a friend who was my TA in Bessborough School and my last 2 years in high school at Riverview High, browsed in Zellers where I used the listening posts, had a Pizza Delight buffet (the main reason my favorite pizza place is Pizza Delight), and went to the movie theatre to see Stuart Little, with Back to the Future’s Michael J. Fox and Nathan Lane, whom before the time I am writing this story, I saw in New York City on Broadway in It’s Only A Play during New York Christmas 2014. 

The following day, I started my first work since graduation and since I had Molly.  A friend of Dad’s hired me to do some lumber piling in a giant workshop that was as big as a hockey arena. 

There was a lot of saws, a sawdust-producing device which made a loud, consistent buzz, conveyor belts, and a huge chainsaw which moved in slow motion like a second hand on some clocks.  One of my co-workers was in my grad class and my 1999 yearbook proves it.  There were a few forklifts and lots of nice co-workers to chat with at breaks.  And when I came home Molly would be happy to see me. 

With the salary I bought a Panasonic 5-disc stereo with Sub Woofers, which is what Molly would have been at Quizno’s with a sandwich and suddenly started pumping Zumba music beats. 

Molly soon grew to be an adult dog, slightly smaller than Dillon. 

By the way, I should describe the 2 dogs. 

Dillon was a short-coated Border Collie with tri-color, and Molly was a long-coated Black and White. 

Soon Molly and I started walking together, her on leash, regularly around our neighborhood, and there were lots of friendly neighbors and dogs to see. 

Soon I joined the YMCA and worked out and sometimes there would be a German Shepherd there as a seeing-eye dog, and another worker-outer was, in fact, my Grade 8 gym teacher. 

On a certain day I would go to the pool for a family swim and sometimes I brought a mix tape I had made of new hits from the CDs I had recently gotten and play them there as I swam. 

Sometimes when I went out to work out Molly scratched at the back door, whining as if to say, “Please take me with you!” 

When I came home she came to me and whined as if to say “Where have you been?” 

The summer, again as with anyone with their first dog, was great! 

Melody hired me for the summer in Kentville as a TA for children with disabilities and I stayed most of the summer there. 

And due to the memory of the Christmas weekend, I remembered the way.  

Sometimes we worked with the children on musical terms and songs, and if they were well behaved, we would watch Blue’s Clues: Rhythm & Blue.  

We attended church at a Catholic church in Canning, Nova Scotia. 

Again, when I came back to Moncton for the weekend, Molly would be happy to see me and we would resume our walk routines. 

Chapter 5: Fall/Great Events

Molly (left) with Dillon

The fall came and Mom hooked me up with a great organization which had support workers take me and sometimes another person to make friends with to things like our favorite stores, the organization’s club with dance music and a 19” TV hooked up to a Super Nintendo system with Super Mario World, Donkey Kong Country, and the Super Nintendo version of Super Mario Bros 2, to the local hockey games and basketball games, to the movie theatre to see Chicken Run and the live action remake of The Grinch with Jim Carey, bowling at a local alley, and local plays. 

I joined Special Olympics Basketball and I enjoyed this. 

I made a great friend named Robert McCoubrey who had an apartment with a 13” TV, a CD player, lots of VHS movies, and lots of dance music CDs.  He and I went to stores together, hockey games, and other local fun things. 

I bought the VHS My Dog Skip and I was touched by the story line and how it was much like this story and how it depicted a boy and his dog, a great neighbor, bullies-turned-friends, and plans to stop the war to bring their neighbor home. 

Christmas, indeed, came, and this time I got a mini-box, like a jewelry box, and in it was a note that read: “A 13” TV to Be Purchased” in block letters. 

We went to Sounds Fantastic, the same store I bought the stereo with the subwoofer with the Caledonia Forest Products salary the February before. 

There we bought a 13” Panasonic TV/VCR Combo. 

With this Molly and I watched movies together, sometimes joined by Dillon. 

Later Jennifer got another dog to join Dillon:  A badly mistreated Rough Collie, named Tessa, who looked then thin like one of those weird creatures you see in the Star Wars movies. 

Soon I started staying weekends with a support worker and his wife at their apartment.  Their names were Blake and Kansas Cameron.  They sometimes took another client and me to the local hockey games. 

Gram passed away and Mom and I flew to Toronto to gather her possessions, and we enjoyed this as there were subways, great places to see and think of Gram, lots of malls with CD/DVD/VHS stores to shop in, and listening stations to use. 

I bought CDs and a VHS here. 

Besides all this Erin was staying at the University of Toronto and Stephanie and Kyle also lived here. 

We got to see them lots and I burned my first CDs here. They are in a box under the shelf in the house at the time I am writing this story. 

When we flew home Molly was so happy to see me that we resumed walking routines. 

The support worker, his wife, and I stayed various weekends together at his apartment.  They moved to a house in the Mountain Road area and got a dog of their own:  A Shepherd-Husky mix named Oskar.  

Chapter 6: Moving Day/College Year

In summer I moved into their house.  I brought my TV, 5-disc stereo, phone, bed, and other things with me. 

They already had another boarder:  A Jehovah’s Witness named Gary Keays who also had his own TV, phone, and sound systems. 

On certain days the phone would be tied up as he listened to meetings from his Kingdom Hall. 

Guests, who were relatives of the Camerons’, visited sometimes and we went to Magic Mountain and other Moncton attractions together. 

The Camerons got another dog to join Oskar:  A Yellow Lab named Elmer, and they were both fun to be with. 

I started an Office Tech course at NBCC Moncton with help from a TA, also from Riverview High.

I would have routine classes, but homework was kept to a minimum. 

Sometimes I would spend the weekends with Mom and, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, Molly was so happy to see me and we resumed our routine walks. 

The first weekend since moving day Mom and I went to the Albert County Exhibition to see a Border Collie demonstration put on by a Nova Scotia farmer and his dogs. 

Christmas, indeed, came, and Molly and I enjoyed it. 

In the theatre I saw the movie Snow Dogs and I was amazed at how much like Molly Nana looks in the movie.  And so I bought the VHS of the movie. 

This spring Mom, Dad, and I went to Halifax and we stayed at the Holiday Inn Select and I had a room of my own! (Sorry Franck, Smyth Tribeca is better than this hotel)  I shopped at HMV, browsed at Mountain Equipment Co-Op, and attended Mass at St. Mary’s Basilica. 

I graduated from college in no time. 

Stephanie and Kyle got married at a Riverview United Church, and though it was in a church, the music played was not hymns, but movie and TV themes and rock hits so it sounded like the church scene from The Blues Brothers with the late James Brown as the Reverend.  But nonetheless it was great and the reception was fun as there was a piano, which I played. 

The Community College hired me for a year as a data person. 

I spent a weekend with Jennifer and Brian, Brennan and Connor, and Dillon and Tessa. 

Christmas came and it was unbelievable. 

And what made these holidays and celebrations all the more great was, you guessed it, Molly’s presence with me. 

After another great summer with Molly and with the Camerons I started work at another workshop, this time Moncton Pallet, and I knew most of the workers from school and Club Shades and hockey games. 

The Christmas that came I got another TV:  This time a Toshiba 19” TV/VCR.  That way when I spent the weekends with Mom, Dad, and Molly, I would not have to carry the Panasonic TV/VCR. 

Chapter7:  Move Plans/A Tragic Day/Moving Day

Molly at the Beach

After years of living with the Camerons, their little girl Brooke, and their 2 dogs, they planned to move to Red Deer, Alberta, which meant I would have to leave the Camerons, heartbreak #1 of 2. 

I moved out, saying goodbye to them, and though I would miss them a lot, on the bright side I would be with Molly for some more time, but unfortunately this was to be short lived, and I will tell you why later. 

We spent some time on the beach and in the trailer we had purchased earlier and continued our routine walks. 

Mom had moved from Alexander Avenue where Molly and I were reunited that November 12th to a countryside house in Indian Mountain.  She had also gotten another Beardie, as Emma had passed away of cancer before they moved.  This time it was an active boisterous male named Sprocket. 

He and Molly were playmates. 

One nice summer day, not expecting anything out of the ordinary or tragic to happen, we went to the Superstore for groceries and came back…only to discover that Molly was sneezing nonstop. 

We looked at her…she was pouring blood out of her nose. 

I thought This does not look good.

We rushed her to Dr. Vessey, who transferred her to the Veterinary College in P.E.I. 

While they took her there I stayed home and played hymns on my keyboard on organ, praying that she got better. 

They predicted 3 possibilities, 2 that could be fixed with time, and a cancer tumor, in which situation, they would have to put her down. 

I prayed, “Please, Dear God in Heaven, not a tumor.” 

The next day they called and said, solemnly, that it was a tumor, and they put her down. 

It’s times like this I am no Elsa because I thought I could not Let it Go. 

The next day we went to the beach to spend the day there with a BBQ and a swim in the beach, but all I could think about was how much nicer this would have been had Molly not been put down. 

Mom and I visited L’Arche Saint John, my new home-to-be and I got a tour of the house and told the people there about the recent tragedy and someone got a tissue and cried.  I played on the organ Be Not Afraid.  

After this Mom and I stayed at the Delta, shopping at its 3-story mall, and I bought the Cars soundtrack, the DVD The Shaggy Dog, and a black Timex Ironman watch. 

Later Jennifer sent us a website for a Border Collie place in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, and Mom and I went to Antigonish to visit the L’Arche houses there, stopping in Stellarton to see the pups along the way. 

On the way home we stopped there again…and purchased another Border Collie, this time named Ella, who stays with me when I see her. 

The move to L’Arche Saint John took place.  And when I spent the weekend or some days with Mom and Dad Ella would be happy to see me.  Although this meant there would be another Border Collie in our house, there was no replacing Molly, and I still wished she was still there to see my new housemates, and I still do and always will.  But things were looking up.  But Ella, too, was an angel.  She was very agile. 

This story is dedicated to my family, dogs, and people without whom this story would be a myth, a wives’ tale. 

The Days Of Molly’s Life is a paws-itively heartwarming story of a beloved Border Collie who comes into the heart of an autistic young man.  A young man adopts a Border Collie whom he loves to the very end and makes lots of friends and memories as a result.

To the reader:

If this story has persuaded you to want to own your own Border Collie, please consider that he/she will need exercise and not like to live in an apartment where there is nothing for him/her to do, as he/she will find his/her own job, and chances are he/she will think he/she has a “Double-O” license to destroy.