Come, Join Me On A Fascinating Journey

When I worked with profoundly troubled young offenders I often asked them, “do you want to do something important with your life?” Inevitably they paused to consider the question, possibly wondering if I was serious. They had no track record of success anywhere. The question surprised them, even momentarily perplexed them.

But when they decided I was serious, they wanted to answer. Some nodded cautiously, not having the confidence to actually say the words. Others hesitantly said “yes.” On the basis of their responses I concluded that there must lurk within all of us, at some deep level of our psyche, a similar longing.

Unfortunately, some people languish in a no man’s land of unfulfilled desires and dreams. They are reminiscent of Cousin Nolan Coil, a character in The Shipping News. He says, “I always knowed I was destined to do fine things. But how to get away and begin. I had no luck.”

Working as a heavy equipment operator after high school, I felt much like Cousin Nolan, unfulfilled. University seemed out of reach, probably because as Shakespeare suggested, “our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we might gain by fearing to attempt.”

At about age 23, I awoke one morning to find a thought waiting for me as though on a shelf at eye level, where I was certain to see it. The thought was “stop living tentatively.” It seemed extraordinarily real and I thought an angel must have swooped down and placed it there.

Shortly afterward, I left my job and my young bride resigned her position with the Royal Bank. We loaded our blue chevy truck with camping gear and began driving toward the interior of British Columbia. We were seekers, but didn’t know what we were seeking. During our 3 months of living in a tent on the shore of Sheridan Lake in open range cattle country, we read the biography of Madame Curie. Her passion for science and learning inspired a desire within me to attend university.

After graduating from Simon Fraser University with an honours BA in the social sciences, my work took me into all the major prisons of British Columbia. Subsequently I led wilderness canoeing expeditions for groups of young offenders and became responsible for several programs at the One Way Adventure Foundation in Hedley, B.C. Participation in community causes has led to being interviewed by the media, including Canadian Press, Reuter’s News Agency, McLeans Magazine and The Globe & Mail.

I’ve never felt the need to walk in the footsteps of Mahatma Ghandi, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela or Martin Luther King. Looking back, I do realize though that like the youths of whom I asked that question, I too have wanted to make a difference. With stories, anecdotes, observations, humour, and wisdom gleaned from writers like Jack Welch, Peter C Neuman, Preston Manning etc. I hope to provoke you to think, and at times to laugh. Sometimes I will attempt to challenge you to be involved with family, community and country. If all else fails, I do want you to be uplifted and entertained. In the midst of life’s challenges, I believe each of us can learn to live significantly. Come, join me on a fascinating journey. I look forward to your comments.