I arrived home late last night and met the boys to pay respects to Jay on the day of his funeral. I missed most of the coherent stories but I also missed the hard parts. I can assure you, though, that he was sent off well.
And now I want to spend a couple of days paying respects to the living loving folks that showed me such a great time in BC over the last week.
I arrived on Friday and called Adam to see if we could have my birthday dinner at his restaurant that night. He laughed me off the phone at the thought that he could accomodate 10 for Friday dinner service the day of. I would find out why a couple of days later (and will properly post about it). So we instead decided on a potluck hosted some friendly Fredericton girls. They made some amazing food which was still no match for the quality of the company. Which reminds me of a joke - so six New Brunswickers, 2 British Columbians, an Englishman and a Kiwi go to a potluck - I haven't got a punchline for it yet but that was the party so the joke is on me. They were even nice enough to make me a sweet ass cake.We followed that up with lots of drink and some silly board game that caused me to tie a balloon to my shirt (I think that's how it got there) and stand on a chair thusly:Needless to say I won't be forgetting my birthday spent in Vancouver. It was a wonderful night thanks to some great friends.
I got news last Wednesday that a good high school friend of mine, Jason Neil, had passed away. Details were sketchy and I spent the next 24 hours letting the rest of the boys know and hoping against hope that it wasn't true. Sadly, it was. And I spent the next day wondering what the hell happened, wondering what went wrong in this smiling guy's life and wondering if I have any other friends hurting so bad.
I missed the funeral as I am currently enroute home from BC. I talked to some of the boys to figure out where I could meet them later and they said the funeral was incredibly heartwrenching due mainly to Jay's to kids being there. They said there were alot of people there and that comes as no surprise to me. Look at that smile.
My enduring memory of Jay will always be that smile. I remember being in a car oustide the Crawfords' house on Smith St. waiting for Jay so we could go to another party. I didn't see Jay come out of the house and his silhouette was dark against the night. As he got close he said something to the driver and smiled. Out of the darkness that smile was like a streetlight coming on.
Jay's nickname was Shadow and I can't help but think that says something about the place that we grew up. Jay was Shadow and we called him that without the slightest thought of any negative racial connotations. Jay was black, black as a shadow, so that was his nickname. I told this to some black friends in Victoria this week and they thought it was nuts. It probably is.
Speaking of nicknames, Jay was the guy who dubbed me Smoothy. It was the Monday after a big football win in high school. My picture was in the paper with the caption Smooth as Silk. When I got to the cafeteria at lunch he walked up to me and said "What's up Smoothy?" and than flashed that smile. I've liked that nickname ever since. He greeted me the same way everytime I saw him in the 17 years that followed. Always with that fucking smile.
I was in the shower at the gym yesterday and out of the blue I started whistling David Bowie's Space Oddity. I'm not sure how it got in my head but if I had a dollar for every time I said that I would be a rich man.
Today is my 34th birthday and I spent the day travelling cross-country from Freddy to Van. Somewhere above the Canadian Shield I thought of Space Oddity again as I marvelled, as I always do, at the thought of this huge hunk of metal hurtling through the air with me inside. Specifically, I thought of this line: "For here am I sitting in a tin can; Far above the world; Planet earth is blue; And theres nothing I can do". I wondered if Bowie meant us to flip the metaphor because when I looked down at the huge expanse of the Canadian hinterland I was reminded that each of us are but little specks on this big rock that is but a little speck in a vast universe. Then I put on my eye mask and dozed off and had a dream about candied yams.
Somewhere over the Rockies I woke up and got my bearings by peering out my window seat. I couldn't tell exactly where we were and that annoyed me. In my head I pulled back the mental map and put the Rockies in context to the rest of Canada, Canada in context of the rest of North America and North America in the context on the rest of the world like those photos from space missions. Space Oddity popped back into my head. That's when the irony of the title hit me and I remembered that I am a weirdo heading west to visit a bunch of other wonderful weirdos. Happy Birthday to me!
I may not be updating the blog while I am out here so please try and keep sane...or not.
Bill Simmons’ most recent article for ESPN is an in-depth review of his favourite youtube clip. Shortly after reading this I got a message from Jebb from Scotland letting me know he gave me a ‘shout out’ in his press day interview with the Rugby Canada press officer. I found the interview on youtube and it is immediately my favourite youtube clip and it’s getting the Simmons treatment.
Here is the clip and below is my breakdown of the unintended (maybe?) hilarity:
0:20 – Doug Crosse introduces Jebb and Jebb gives us the goofiest grim imaginable. Doug sets him up with a softball question about his confidence. Jebb’s response started “I don’t know if my confidence level…” at which point he could have actually said “…could get any higher” and I would not have been surprised. 1:00 – To Jebb’s credit he actually gave a thoughtful and insightful answer to a question about starting versus coming in off the bench. At the end he says “You don’t want to go out and blow your energy” and I am surprised and disappointed that he didn’t just say “You don’t want to go out and blow your load”. 1:30 – After another (semi)coherent answer in which he didn’t use ‘you know’ once, Jebb is then asked the clearly prompted question “And any shout-outs to people back home?” His response, the shout out heard ‘round the clubhouse, “uh, yeah, just a shout out to, uh, Simon Pacey”. He then forgets his media training and looks straight in the camera and smiles one of the most self-satisfied smiles since, well, the one at the start of the interview. Comedic genius. And just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, Doug adds “alright, the Pacer back in New Brunswick”. The Pacer! Doug Crosse gave me a new nickname! I think I’ll stick with the Big Smooth though, thanks.
As if that all wasn’t enough, Doug then interviews Fast Eddie Fairhurst whose moustache has more game than you could ever imagine. He and Jebb look like they are trying to get a role in the Bang Bros next movie. Movember my ass. 1:38 - Doug starts off with a comment about Eddie’s face – “From the looks of your face it looks like you’ve…” and I was sure he was going to end that sentence with “…been doing gay porn.” The follow-up question was about the honour of captaining the squad and Eddie answered it with the grace and aplomb you would expect from a St. Mike’s boy. All the while, though, I’m positive he was screaming “My face, my face, my beautiful face!” on the inside. 3:05 – In that great Canadian way Doug finds a way to talk about the weather, which apparently may be a factor in the weekend’s game. At that point Eddie looks like he knows the interview may have crossed into snoresville and his eyes start darting around revealing his true thoughts which are, as always, “Where the Bitches at!?!?”. 3:28 – “Cool, thanks Doug”. Ever the Islander…he should have said “Rad bra”.
Scotty sent me a link to a Rugby Canada press release youtube interview of Jebb at the end of their Captain's Run on Thursday. It's a good interview and show's Jebb's moustache in all of its glory.
The game is set to kickoff right about now and I can only imagine what that stadium must be like once it is filled with 60,000 screaming, singing Welshmen.
Back when I used to spend every day on the rugby field in Victoria I always used to like our Friday Captain's Runs the best. It was a day to just go out and stretch your legs, run through the game plan and get your mind focussed on the task at hand. What's more that that, it's a great excuse for me to play this song for Flashback Friday:
My phone rang at 9:30 this morning; it was Dad calling to tell me to get my ass in gear to get over to his place so we could make it to the Remembrance Day ceremony. I got dressed and headed over the bridge and met him and Will on the trail. We marched to the river side of the Cenotaph and a good vantage point of the soldiers from Gagetown in their parade greens.
The wind was cold and the speeches hard to hear but we did manage to figure out when the two minutes of silence started, and when the ceremony proper was over. We then headed a few steps down Queen St. to get a better view of the soldier's parade. As always, I was sad to see the numbers of the old veterans continue to dwindle, but again honoured to see the pride on their faces as they waved to an appreciative crowd.
After the parade we walked back to the homestead on George St. and dad gave me a piece of paper outlining the New Zealand War Memorial in Grevilliers France. It is a memorial for the "Soldiers of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force who fell in the Battles of the Somme and the Advance to Victory, 1918, and have no graves".
On the bottom it has my Great-Grandfather's specifics: Pacey, Rfn. William, 41106. 3rd Bn. 3rd (Rifle) Brigade. 27th March, 1918. Age 25. Son of William and Annie Pacey, of Taieri Rd., Halfway Bush, Wakari, Dunedin; husband of Mary Elizabeth Pacey, of Girton, Newark, England. Born at Bingham, Nottinghman, Endland.
A little over 3 years ago I had the honour of representing Canada in a test match versus Wales. In doing so I became the first New Brunswicker to earn a cap, representative of playing for the National Senior Men's team. For me it was one and done and my fifteen minutes of fame was almost exactly that; I came off the bench for about 17 minutes in a 60-3 drubbing at the hands of a very good Welsh squad. Nevertheless, I earned my cap and enjoyed being the most capped New Brunswicker. Until now.
Over the weekend Jebb Sinclair came off the bench in the 47th minute versus Ireland. This was the second straight week that he was inserted into a test match and some quick calculating will show that 2>1. And with that I give him the belt.
I interviewed Jebb* in a late night phone call from Limerick on Saturday night: Phone rings SP - Hello? JS - What's up homo? SP - Dad? JS - It's Jebb, you frybag. SP - Oh Jebb, hey man, Congrats. I heard you got some good playing time. JS - Yeah I went on right after half, they only scored 17 points after I went on. SP - Right on, you thought you played well? JS - Super sweet, made 12 tackles, had 5 steals, retained 3 balls in contact and after the game I stole the post pads and gave them to the poor. SP - Wow, you're going to be a real folk hero. JS - Going to be? SP - Sorry, are. You are a folk hero, particularly in Northern New Brunswick, where you are known as Le Big Dumb Dog and children are growing crappy moustaches in your honour. JS - Damn right, Number 2. SP - Pardon? JS - You're Number 2, so that's what I'm going to call you. You ok with that? SP - But I was first, you can't take that from me. JS - Can't I? SP - Well no, you have the most but I was first. Those are the facts. JS - We'll see about that. I have to go comb my moustache. Later Number 2. SP - Again, congrats Jebb, you big dumb dog. *May or may not have actually happened.
I watched the game last night and Jebb did indeed play well. They still lost 55-0 but he had a great work rate and was heavily involved. I can't, however, corroborate the post pad story.
I coached Jebb in juniors and captained him in his first senior rugby. I am amazed at how far he has come in such a short time. And truth be told he admitted that he can't take being the first away from me. Damn right.
So election fever is over for another season and no we get to see if anything actually changes. For the 24hour news networks, this has be like going back to school after Christmas. It was amazing watching them try to outdo each other with multi-person pundit panels, YELLING, and gadgets. CNN outdid them all with their breathless introduction of the news hologram. For those of us who saw Star Wars in 1977, we've been waiting a long time for this, AND Princess Leia had a hotter outfit. So that news hologram was a real letdown. Virtual Insanity indeed.
That is the Latin translation of New Brunswick’s coat of arms motto – Hope Restored. That seems a pretty apt motto for what America did for the world last night. I don’t mean to overstate what this means, not much will change here on the ground anytime soon, but seeing smiling faces around the world at the news of Barack Obama’s win last night and knowing that it made me smile too, it was nice to feel a part of a big collective.
Two days ago I outlined why this election meant a lot to me and in his acceptance speech Obama nailed the response – “And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world - our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down - we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.”
This is a huge feat for an African-American and we should all recognize that – I entitled this post American Boy because that has less racial overtones than it did yesterday (it’s also a pretty kicking beat) – but for me this is about America restoring hope to a world that needs it.
Barack Obama is the unquestioned star of this election but no figure has been more polarizing than Sarah Palin. Frankly, I think she is quite nice to look at and her many gaffes can be forgiven under the circumstances. She should never have been asked to do what was asked of her. She will admit that someday...maybe.
But what has become the most distressing theme of this election, and the one that she has trumpeted the loudest, is that being elite is somehow a negative when it comes to choosing a leader. I can also forgive her down home charm and will even give her the benefit of the doubt and believe its sincere. But on the back of that persona she insinuates that being a regular Joe is what people need in their leaders. Elitism is a negative term, elite should never be. I don't want someone mediocre making the most important decisions in the free world, I want someone extraordinary with powers of comprehension, communication, and courage of conviction far beyond average.I'm not even saying for sure that anyone in this race has these qualities but it should at least be what they strive for.
I've mentioned previously that I am a little bit guilty about having paid more attention to US election than I did to ours. I'm over that now. Our election was never really in doubt and our system maybe a little better equipped to keep our leaders from driving us over a cliff. More importantly, most importantly, the fact is if we drive over a cliff we don't take the rest of the world with us. That's why the US election has been so fascinating and engrossing.
The world is turning a hopeful eye towards America. This is nothing new but the game has changed somewhat. America has historically been the promised land, a land of opportunity, of innovation and most of all freedom. There is a real sense around the world that it still is a land of opportunity (immagrants still arrive in droves) but inside and outside it's borders the innovation and freedom ideals appear to have been subverted. To the outside world there appears to be one clear choice in this election. To the outside world the fact that Americans might not see it the same way is scary. People in Bangor are voting for different reasons than why people are watching in Berlin but they carry that weight. That's the deal when you've made yourself the most powerful nation in the world. With power comes responsibility.
In an all too familiar theme, the girl in my arms in this photo is going away for a little while until I can convince her to come back. We lost the Caledonia Cup 14-8 to a Valley Bulldogs team that played their game better than we played ours and, in all honesty, seemed to want it more than we did. I have lost this game 3 times now and each time it was on the road in Nova Scotia. Importantly, I have never lost two years in a row.
We're all pretty pissed off right now and the work to get the cup back starts tomorrow. Like I said the other day, this means it will be a long off-season questioning things we could have done differently and, more forward-looking, what we can do to get back on top. It does make for great motivation.
We followed that up with lots of drink and some silly board game that caused me to tie a balloon to my shirt (I think that's how it got there) and stand on a chair thusly:
Needless to say I won't be forgetting my birthday spent in Vancouver. It was a wonderful night thanks to some great friends.
