Back in My Birthplace

I try to keep this site up to date over the holidays but sometimes it’s difficult and then I’ll just throw a random information update which will have you saying “Whaaa?”

I am now in Sudbury, the place of my birth as I drove Mom done so we can see Dad in the hospital. They were planning to put both Dad and Mom on the Air Ambulance to go to Sudbury to see the cardiologist but as soon as they were boarding the plane, the pilot informed Mom that no one informed them that Mom would be coming so they had too much fuel on board. So I packed my bags and drove Mom and myself to Sudbury.

I have never really remembered going to Sudbury in my later years in my life so it was odd to hear that I could get there through Timmins. We packed up the truck with all survival gear; sleeping bags, candles, snowsuits…it’s a dangerous time to be travelling in the winter up North. Mom kept warning me about the Highway 144 which connects Timmins to Sudbury…it was barren and there no civilization for 300 kilometers.

This was chugging through my head on the way down. The trip only began around 3PM and it already started off bad as the sub we bought was hard to eat while driving and there was now mustard all over my jacket and seat! After getting a scolding from Mom for asking for too many toppings, the rest of the trip went fine until hitting up Wal-Mart for some windshield washer and I couldn’t find the latch to pop open the hood of Dad’s truck. For a valiant 5 minutes I searched and searched but I could not figure it out. I stared at the mechanism for a solid 30 seconds to see what part connected to which. In the end I realized that it was a simple pull of a lever which had alluded me which popped the hood and we were on our way.

HWY 144 is a disaster. Small. No Cellphone towers. Snows. Argh. While there weren’t any close calls, I was on edge the entire trip as we passed oncoming traffic and you were shifted to the side of the road. I felt like a big man coming down the hallway and I was Peter Parker being shoved to the side.

Mom introduced me to the CBC on the ride as the CDs Maureen gave me were god-awful. She even had mixes entitled “Soft” and “Evil”. Gak. CBC was amazing….they had some amazing jazz sessions as well as a songwriting session where last year songwriters submitted 27 words that encompassed their past year or what they saw in the upcoming year of 2007 and then other songwriters wrote music to it. Very inspiring and I may ask you all to submit your 27 words so I can use them to build songs with.

In the end, we made it through HWY 144 and after some questionable directions from Mom, we arrived at the hospital (we passed by Northern Brewery!) and saw Dad on the 5th floor. I think it relieved all involved to see a) Dad in Sudbury to see a cardiologist and b) Us show up safe and sound.

After visiting for a few minutes (as it was past visiting hours), we headed to Gary and Susan’s place where I was introduced to the most amazing basement (if not house) of all time – a basement with motion sensor lights, a hot tub, beer bottles from heaven’s knows where and a beer keg in the fridge. A smile crept on my face when Dad prepared me for it at the hospital but when Gary was showing me how to pour the beer, it was all fun and games at that point. We then headed to their deck which they converted to a den and had fun for a few hours before retiring for the night.

So here I am in Sudbury in a bedroom typing away and hoping that Dad will see the cardiologist tomorrow. Chances are that he won’t as it is a Sunday but you never know. At least he is here where some world-renowned cardiologists reside.

As for the quick update before I update the past few days: Dad has been having pain since the beginning of December which resulted in a hospital stay. Hasn’t gotten better since then to the point where he has chest pain while walking to the washroom. Brought him into the hospital on December 27th and has now arrived in Sudbury today. Don’t know how long we will be here. Vero has in her heart offered to drive us and take care of us but let’s be honest…I appreciate that and if we do need your help, you’re a phone call away.