In the years I worked for the One Way Adventure Foundation, a variety of youths were sent to our programs by judges, probation officers and social workers. Invariably they came with thorny issues that brought them pain but which they resisted dealing with. For mere mortals, change is difficult and I have sometimes wondered when they moved on whether we had helped them gain the motivation, understanding and skills required to continue rebuilding their lives.

Last week, after vanishing for forty-five years, one such youth surprised me with the following comment on my blogsite.

“I was one of those ‘bad boys’ sent to the OWAF back in 1976 by the courts. What an adventure!!

My name is Paul Richardson and I’m forever grateful to Len & Jean. Ron Gibson if I remember right was a counselor with the foundation. Ron would always steer us straight and kept a tight rein on us. I attended the Foundation School in Surrey, and we would travel to Hedley lots. Stayed in the Colonial House and the chef in the kitchen was a fantastic cook, (former biker if memory serves me right).

They had a cabin up the mountain from Hedley that we stayed in for a few nights in the winter. Going out to the well, break the ice in it to get water and the snow was deep. When we came back to the Colonial House, we came down the old tram line snow shoeing and sliding on our butts( I have a scar from an old spike sticking out of the ground ). Never felt it, frozen butt. It wasn’t until the chef noticed and fixed me up right away.

I was 16 when I was sent there and here I am soon to be 61, and the memories of that time of my life are flooding back to me. They are what saved me back then, the counselors of this great foundation. Have to stop writing for tears are forming in my eyes.

It took me another 10 years to get it. At 26 I sobered up and have been in AA for 34 years now, married and still living and dreaming. Thank-you Ron, Len and Jean and the rest of the One Way Adventure Foundation.”

Although I did not work with Paul directly, I recalled he had been gifted with a robust physique and a willingness to engage in conversation. In a 2 hour phone call from his home in Calgary last week, he talked about his life. “My father was an alcoholic,” he said. “He joined AA and my mother attended Al-Anon. I don’t remember my father ever giving me any positive affirmations in my early years, or saying he loved me.”

Paul began drinking some time after age 8. “The alcohol interfered with my memory. I don’t remember much of my childhood. I became a blackout drinker. I could be happy-go-lucky, then, in an instant become angry without reason”. As we talked, some memories came back to Paul. “A friend and I were bored and did a break and entry, looking for alcohol. This is what got me sent to the One Way Adventure Foundation at their Surrey location. I was placed in the home of a local family and this was a good experience.

In his younger years my group leader, Ron Gibson, had been on the wrong side of the law himself. He had been where we were, and had learned to stay away from what would drag him back down. Ron and other leaders planted good seed in us.”

After the Foundation Paul floundered for another 10 years, then went to detox, sobered up and joined AA. More good seed was planted here. “I still love the taste of alcohol,” he said. “I just don’t touch it anymore.

In 1986 I took a heavy equipment operators course and learned to run dozers, scrapers, graders, packers and other equipment. I enjoyed it and found I had a knack for it. Since then I’ve also taken courses in excavators and boom trucks. I’ve worked across Canada and in the U.S.”

In 2001 Paul married Rose and they have a comfortable home in Calgary. Looking back over his life now, he stills gives credit to the good seed planted by the One Way Adventure Foundation and AA. It helped that he was receptive to the constructive counsel he received.