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Notes from a Garage

With John Gardiner

Learning to backroad, a Walton Family Christmas and some mixed emotions.....

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

So, I get an e-mail through Facebook the other day from Bob Hubbard – a good friend from the old days growing up in Hanover. He conveniently sends me his phone number, so I can call instead of using this goofy e-mail. We talked for over an hour and laughed a lot and it was absolutely great getting re-acquainted. Remembering the old days. Met Bob in Grade 11 – memories of performing the street fight in Romeo and Juliet with rolled up newspapers for swords and reducing the entire classroom to chaos. And back in those days, we were just starting our drinking careers and "Hub", as we callled him, invited us to come to Neustadt, the small village where he lived, for a weekend of merriment. And so began my serious backroading career, as me and a few of my Hanover buddies started joining Hub and the Neustadt gang for drinking bashes every weekend we could manage it. And we journied the backroads in the back of an old, manure-laden farm truck, usually ending up out in the middle of the bush acting like a bunch of wildmen – they were wild and crazy times and I was just coming of age. And, of course, we didn't just drink and I don't want to give you the wrong idea, but I remember it as a fun time. Anyway, it was hugely enjoyable talking to Hub again – he is a dear friend who was with me back in the day......

Well, it finally happened! The Gardiner family Christmas was sort of snowed out. We moved it to this past Sunday but the snowgods had other ideas. Some folks didn't make it at all, I drove when I shouldn't have and those who made it ended up spending an extra day at my Mom and Dad's. Foul weather indeed on Sunday. I was in Barrie for another Christmas celebration with part of Carol's family and the plan was to drive to Hanover Sunday morning to be with my family. Carol came down with a deadly cold over Friday night and was extremely ill so she'd already decided not to come to Hanover. I got up in Barrie Sunday and there was likely a foot of snow already on the ground, plenty more falling and a howling wind. And away I went. An hour later, I was thinking this was perhaps one of the stupidest things I'd ever done. I grew up in that part of the world and I know that being out in really bad winter weather is not oly stupid, it's dangerous. But I ploughed on, literally, cutting across the backroads, because all the main highways were closed. I felt like John Walton trying to get home for Christmas in the Walton Family Christmas. You can't imagine how glad I was to see the edge of Hanover. Made it in over twice the normal time. And then spent the day with the family that made it and that was extremely worthwhile. Seeing little Isaac walk over to his great grandfather with a book in his hand, and softly say, "Book, book," and then to watch the two of them sitting together reading was worth any amount of driving in bad weather. I don't know what life is about – any of you who read this space regularly know that – I ponder and I wonder relentlessly. I'm constantly battling these big questions about why we're here and what the heck we're supposed to be doing. Then, you see the innocence of a tiny boy sitting beside his great grandfather reading a simple storybook, and you sort of know what it's about – or what it should be about. Remember that this Christmas!

Happy Christmas to everyone out there in computer land. This is the time of year when I remember so fondly my growing up years. We had happy but very simple Christmases back in the day. Now that I look back on it, I'm not sure how my mother and father did it, with four growing children and a house to keep up and my Dad not making really good money at his job. But somehow we managed and I never remember being disappointed at Christmas. Life since then has had its share of disappointments – divorce and death and other calamaties that strike at you as you make your journey. It has a tendency to take the shine off Christmas for a lot of people and make this a most difficult time of the year. And if you're on the downside of life, it's brutal. Knowing your kids aren't going to have the latest this or that can be a bitter pill to swallow. But it can still be a simple but happy time. If we keep it in context, there is great joy in giving and receiving gifts. Even now, I feel some twinge of giddy excitement as I pick out what I think will be the perfect gift for my son or daughter or Mom and Dad. I guess it's a season of mixed emotions and perhaps is for most people. And perhaps what I'm trying to say is have a happy Christmas, but think of others during this time of the year and do what you can to help them have a happy Christmas as well. Remember, we're all in this together.

Should be signing off for this week. hoping your life is going well and you're accomplishing a few of your goals.....take care and remember......"Hew to the line; let the chips fall where they may."



John Gardiner is a 25-year-veteran of the community newspaper business, but he is also a prolific writer of moralistic short fiction he refers to as "emotional thoughtscapes" or "adult fables". Samples of his fiction can be found at:

He has also produced a noteworthy piece of humanist philosophy which can be found at: http://www.xs4all.nl/~aboiten/ad502.htm He welcomes comments on his work.