IT WAS OUR 70'S SHOW - AND IT WAS A LOT OF FUN

The 1970's in Bracebridge. The halcyon days when a game of road hockey, up on Liddard Street, was great, uncomplicated, uncompromised fun. We all had our love interests, reciprocal feelings or not, and by the mid decade I was dating two girls at once, and they knew about it! Apparently I was a hot item back then, in my post hippy period. Suzanne laughs at this now, staring at my paunch, lack of hair and look of a typical antique dealer / writer……boring! We had some great times in that ten year stretch of our young lives, and few complaints other than not having a date on Friday night.

Inadvertently, and with quite a shock, I heard last night about an old friend of mine, from that 1970's vintage, having passed away this week at the age of 51. Suzanne didn't know who it was but when she mentioned a few related names and a locale, I knew it was Roger Taverner, one of the old Liddard Street gang. He was one of our road hockey team-mates, a keen baseballer in our side-lot games, a capable running back on the neighborhood grid-iron, and well, just a mate. I wrote a book, a number of years ago, about my early years in Bracebridge, and I'm pretty sure Roger was featured in the front cover photograph, with friends Steve Henry, Scott Rintoul, Rod Baldwin, Randy Carswell, Roger Taverner and myself. It was a Christmas vacation and we were home from university, or just home, and we met up for what became the last game of road hockey we'd play as that old gang.

The photograph was taken on the back lane of the hospital, where we used to play when the Henry's driveway was full of cars. Most of the time, we played on their "L" shaped pavement, and adjusted our game strategy accordingly. We used to play football and baseball on the Henry's side yard, which was perfect for a mixed team of girls and guys who were playing for fun……playing for relationships I suppose. Some of the other gals who were part of that 70's gang, included dear friends like Linda Henry, Judy Gray, Nancy Crump, Marian and Linda Dawson. Rick Hillman and Ron Boyer were frequent joiners in our reindeer games. Sure we were kind of a rag-tag mix but you know, while some folks might like to re-write their personal history, or fudge their biographies to exclude some realities, I have always been so thankful to have had such interesting and kind friends back then, including Roger.

Randy Carswell, one of the most likable characters of my nostalgic Bracebridge, died a number of years ago, and it staggered his friends, many who had not known about his out-of-control diabetes. Randy loved road hockey. As he couldn't play organized hockey in the minor leagues, he put all his effort into the game he could excel. He also provided the play by play, as Foster Hewitt. He had an infectious personality and when he died, it was if the good humor in the good old hometown, just evaporated and was never truly replaced. I know it's wrong to think this but for me, it was the way I felt. It took a while, after hearing about Roger's sudden death, before I could reconcile all the sentiments embodied, in so many memories of those innocent, fun-seeking days in such good company. Roger had a kind heart and an easy-going character back then. He was always smiling, and I never once, whether he got a ball in the beak, or whacked in the shins, or flattened by a husky check, saw him show the least bit of anger or frustration. He took winning in stride, and losing was never a big deal. He liked being part of the neighborhood "happening," and we were always glad to see him running down Liddard with hockey stick in hand. We moderated each other. While this was a time of partying, as many of our contemporaries pursued morning, noon and night, our 70's gang held on to some old time values, and maybe we did look ultra conservative. We didn't care what anyone else thought about us….there was strength in numbers.

Then we grew up. We found mates. Got jobs, lost jobs, had kids, moved from dwelling to dwelling, locale to locale, endured set-backs, and suffered from excesses in one form or another, and inevitably, regrettably, we lost touch with one another. I never ran into Roger since those years, without getting a trademark smile……the same one he wore as a keen hockeyist, way back when…….and a handshake that was always validation, our friendship would never end despite the reality we didn't meet often, or live in the same neighborhood, or the same town. I think some times, when we'd accidentally meet, here or there in Muskoka, he'd suspect initially that I hadn't recognized him…..but outstretched his hand regardless. I could never have forgotten the happy kid still represented behind that bashful smile…..that the etching of his adult years couldn't diminish no matter how hard life had been, or how he had felt things could have turned out better. I only know Roger as a playing-mate from a long time ago. Our youngsters crossed paths back at Bracebridge Public School but nothing that put our families together. So it's true I don't know much about Roger at all, except, I never forget acts of kindness no matter what. That is my amalgamated memory of Roger Taverner. And it is a good one.

I have lived a writer's life. I began my profession, in earnest, at around the same time as we played that last game of road hockey, which was probably Christmas 1977. And when, after all these years, I sit in my office here, overlooking the homestead we call Birch Hollow, I know that when I commence my work for the day, I will incorporate, and call upon, all the inspiration I have gathered over a lifetime…..and although it would be difficult to find a direct correlation between the friendships of the 1970's, and today's literary ramblings, believe this old author when I tell you…..it's all there! So losing a friend is profound. I'm glad to have known Roger. I hope he knew that!