BRANT SCOTT - I KNEW HIM WHEN!
AS YOU KNOW, HAVING READ A FULL WEEK OF MY BLOGS, I AM VERY FOND OF RECALLING MY DAYS, SPENT IN THE EMPLOY OF MUSKOKA PUBLICATIONS, SPECIFICALLY THE HERALD-GAZETTE. IT WAS A PERIOD IN MY LIFE, THAT WAS SOMEWHAT RECKLESS, WILD AND CRAZY, AND A LIFE THAT BORDERED ON THE FICTIONAL, TRUTH BE KNOWN. WE WERE A BAND OF FRIENDS, WHO SHARED POVERTY, LONELINESS, AND CAREER UNCERTAINTY. SO YES, IT WAS AN INTENSE PERIOD OF SELF AND GROUP DISCOVERY, AND WE DIDN'T LIKE A FEW OF THE THINGS WE LEARNED BY A SOMETIMES BRUTAL IMMERSION IN REALITY. LIKE THE FACT BRANT SCOTT'S "PINTO" RAN FIVE MILES WITH ITS ENGINE RUNNING, AND WE RAN FIVE MILES PUSHING IT BACK HOME. NOTHING WAS AS IT SEEMED, OR SHOULD HAVE BEEN, AND FOR REASONS UNKNOWN, WE FOUND ALL THE GLARING ERRORS IN OUR INDIVIDUAL GAME STRATEGIES. WE WERE BOTH WEAK, BUT WE HATED WHEN THAT SHOWED. SO WE COMPENSATED IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS, WHICH FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, WORKED PRETTY WELL. THE READERSHIP OF OUR NEWSPAPER WAS THE REAL BENEFICIARY OF OUR BID TO FIND OURSELVES, BECAUSE WE PUT THE BEST EFFORT INTO MAKING OUR NEWS PAGES THE BEST OF THE BEST. WE DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF RESOURCES TO DO THIS, BUT WE HAD A LOT OF PERSONAL GUMPTION TO EXPEND. AND WE DID. I'M STILL ENORMOUSLY PROUD OF HOW WE TURNED A WEEKLY INTO A DAILY, WITHOUT HAVING TO PRINT EVERY DAY. IT WAS A QUALITY THING YOU SEE. WE PURSUED STORIES AS IF WE WERE WORKING FOR A DAILY, WHICH TRUTHFULLY, IS WHAT WE WERE ASPIRING TOWARD.
I WAS NEXT TO THE LAST TO KNOW. IT WAS LIKE THAT WHEN I WAS EDITOR OF THE BRACEBRIDGE HERALD-GAZETTE, AND HE WAS OUR ROVING REPORTER, COLUMNIST EXTRAORDINAIRE! EXCEPT I SELDOM KNEW WHERE HE WAS ROVING. HE USED TO GET A KICK OUT OF ME, CHASTISING HIM, TILL VEINS WERE POPPING ON MY FOREHEAD, FOR DOING WHAT HE FELT WAS HIS FUNDAMENTAL NEWSPAPER TASK. LIKE HIS FAVOURITE COLUMNIST, PAUL RIMSTEAD, FORMERLY OF THE TORONTO SUN, THIS REPORTER / COLUMNIST, I CALLED MY MATE, WAS HARD TO CONFINE. IMPOSSIBLE TO CORRAL, OR PIN DOWN FOR MORE THAN A FEW MINUTES, DURING HIS HUSTLING FOR GOOD, HOT, ABOVE THE FOLD NEWS STORIES. MAYBE BRANT SCOTT WOULD HAVE FOUND IT IRONIC, THAT I ONLY LEARNED OF HIS RECENT PASSING, VIA THE MEDIA WE ONCE LABOURED FOR, BUT COMPLAINED ABOUT CONSTANTLY AS BEING TOO CONSERVATIVE FOR OUR OWN GOOD.
A WEEK AFTER MOST OF HIS FRIENDS FOUND OUT, I GOT MY RUDE AWAKENING, SITTING ON MY VERANDAH, AT BIRCH HOLLOW, READING THE WEEKLY "GRAVENHURST BANNER." I HAD JUST FINISHED READING ALL THE PRE-ELECTION COVERAGE, AND WAS HEADING TO CHECK OUT THE OBITUARIES. NOT SO FUNNY NOW, IN RETROSPECT, BUT FOR THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, I'VE SENT BRANT EMAIL MESSAGES TO HIM IN OTTAWA, ABOUT OLD CRONIES OF OURS, IN MUSKOKA, HAVING PASSED AWAY. IT WASN'T SO LONG AGO THAT I HAD TO TELL HIM ABOUT THE TRAGIC DEATH OF FRIEND, BRUCE MACPHAIL AND HIS WIFE RUTH-ANNE, IN A CAR ACCIDENT, WHILE TRAVELING THROUGH NEBRASKA. BEFORE THIS, I HAD TO BREAK THE NEWS, THAT OUR OLD PHOTOGRAPHER CHUM, JOHN BLACK, HAD DIED AFTER A SHORT ILLNESS. WHEN I SAW HIS PHOTOGRAPH, ON ONE OF THESE SAME OBITUARIES, AT FIRST, IN QUITE A STATE, I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, "GOSH, I BETTER EMAIL BRANT ABOUT THIS!" UNTIL I STARTED LAUGHING AT MYSELF, THINKING THIS WOULD BE SOMEWHAT REDUNDANT, SEEING AS IT WAS BRANT'S NOTICE I WAS READING. HONESTLY, IT WAS LIKE GETTING HIT IN THE STOMACH, WITH A CLENCHED FIST, BECAUSE TRUTH BE KNOWN, HE WAS THE MENTOR TO ME, HE NEVER WANTED TO BE. I MIGHT HAVE BEEN HIS BOSS, ON PAPER, AND ON THE MASTHEAD, BUT I KNEW DAMN WELL, THAT MY JOB WAS ONLY GUARANTEED BY HIS EXCEPTIONAL WRITING, AND A CAPABILITY TO FERRET OUT STORIES FROM WHAT SEEMED IMPENETRABLE SOURCES. HE HAD AN EASY GOING MANNER, AND HONESTLY, IN THE NEWS GATHERING PROFESSION, HE WAS SO CAPABLE OF TURNING ENEMIES INTO FRIENDS, THAT WE WERE PRETTY MUCH GUARANTEED TO GET THE BEST SCOOPS OF THE WEEK ON OUR FRONT PAGE.
AFTER A FEW WEEKS OF POSTURING AND DEMONSTRATING THAT I HAD THE BEST OFFICE CHAIR AND TYPEWRITER, AFFORDED THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, HE TOLD ME TO "TAKE A DRAG," AND NOT KNOWING WHAT THIS MEANT, HE OFFERED ME A CIGARETTE. I KNEW HE WAS SCULPTING ME, TO MEET HIS NEEDS, AND AFTER AWHILE, SEEING HOW HE WORKED HIS MAGIC, I JUST SURRENDERED. I JUST ASKED HIM IF HE COULD PLEASE KEEP ME INFORMED ABOUT HIS WHEREABOUTS, AND OCCASIONALLY CHECK IN WITH THE FRONT DESK FOR HIS PHONE MESSAGES. IT'S HOW WE CARRIED ON FOR MANY YEARS, AND WHEN HE ACCEPTED THE EDITOR'S JOB WITH OUR SISTER PUBLICATION, IN PARRY SOUND, KNOWN THEN AS "THE BEACON," I FELT WORSE THAN A CUB REPORTER. HE HAD BEEN FAR MORE IMPORTANT TO THE NEWSPAPER THAN HIS TITLE SUGGESTED, OR HIS PAY CHEQUE REWARDED HIM. IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT TIMES OF MY WRITING CAREER, BECAUSE I HAD NO ONE TO LEAN ON, AND AS HE WAS ALSO MY MENTOR, TAVERN-MATE, I WAS ALSO DEPRESSED AND LONELY. I COULDN'T TELL HIM THIS! IF YOU KNEW BRANT SCOTT, AT ALL, YOU COULDN'T GIVE HIM ANY LEVERAGE, IN AN AREA YOU FELT WAS A PERSONAL VULNERABILITY. IF I HAD TOLD HIM, "BRANT, I MISS YOU," HE WOULD HAVE FLOGGED THAT AT EVERY RECREATIONAL OR SOCIAL EVENT WE ATTENDED TOGETHER. THIS WAS A FRIEND, WHO WOULD INTRODUCE ME TO HIS FRIENDS, ROUTINELY, AS "A WALL OF MEAT," LONG BEFORE HE MENTIONED MY NAME. WHICH ALWAYS STARTED OFF OUR NEW FRIENDSHIP WITH A LAUGH AT MY EXPENSE. HE CALLED ME "GUNSELL," AND "TEEDER" BUT NEVER BY "TED." SO YOU CAN IMAGINE, IF HE HAD TO YELL OUT MY NAME AT AN EVENT, TO GET MY ATTENTION. I WAS RED-FACED FOR MOST OF OUR YEARS WORKING TOGETHER.
WHAT I LIKED SO MUCH ABOUT MY OLD FRIEND, WAS THAT HE COULD MAKE ME LAUGH. HE THOUGHT LIFE WAS SERIOUS ENOUGH, AND BETWEEN STAFFERS, WE SHOULDN'T VOID OURSELVES OF GOOD HUMOUR. MAYBE HE TOOK IT TO EXTREMES WITH SOME OF HIS COMMENTS, BUT THERE WAS SOMETHING IMPORTANT, ABOUT LAUGHING OUT LOUD, FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME. FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN I WORKED FOR A SHORT PERIOD, AS A NEWS EDITOR OF THE COMPETITION, BRACEBRIDGE EXAMINER, AND HE HAD RETURNED TO THE HERALD-GAZETTE, IN 1989, WE MET AT A BRACEBRIDGE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING. HERE I WAS, SQUARING OFF, FOR NEWS COVERAGE, AGAINST MY MENTOR. BY THIS POINT, I HAD IMPROVED FROM THE ROOKIE-MISTAKE YEARS, OF THE EARLY 1980'S, WHEN HE TUTORED ME ALMOST DAILY, ON HOW TO WRITE A GOOD NEWS STORY. BY THE WAY, THE ONLY REASON I WAS EDITOR, AND NOT HIM, IN THOSE YEARS, CAME DOWN TO MY OWN MANAGEMENT CONSERVATISM; MEANING I DIDN'T ROCK THE BOAT, OR GIVE THE PUBLISHER TOO MANY REASONS TO WORRY I WAS ABOUT TO BLOW A HOLE IN HIS SHIP. GETTING BACK TO THIS PARTICULAR COUNCIL MEETING, IT WAS LIKE A CHESS GAME, BRANT SCOTT STYLE. HE PLAYED ME LIKE A CHEAP VIOLIN. I SUPPOSE I SHOULD BE FLATTERED BY THE FACT, HE DID ASSESS THAT I MIGHT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO OUT-FOX HIM ON NEWS GATHERING, BECAUSE I WAS EXPERIENCED COVERING MUSKOKA TOWN COUNCILS. SO WHILE HE MADE COPIOUS NOTES, AND HE DIDN'T CARE IF I READ THEM, HE STARTED TO MAKE COMMENTS ABOUT THE COUNCILLORS AROUND THE TABLE. IT'S HARD TO EXPLAIN BRANT SCOTT'S SENSE OF HUMOR, BUT HE KNEW THAT IF HE PLAYED THE RIGHT COMBINATION OF STRINGS, I'D START LAUGHING. ONCE I HAD CROSSED THE THRESHOLD OF THIS INSANITY, EVEN LAUGHING AT THE WAY HE USED TO FINGER HIS MOUSTACHE, OR JUST SMILE, LIKE HE HAD JUST REMEMBERED A JOKE HE WANTED TO SHARE, THERE WAS NO WAY TO REGAIN MY EMOTIONAL STABILITY. I WAS DONE. IT WAS THE FIRST TIME IN BRACEBRIDGE COUNCIL HISTORY, THAT A MEDIA REPRESENTATIVE, WAS ASKED TO SETTLE-DOWN OR LEAVE THE CHAMBER. I MAY HAVE UTTERED, "TAKE A DRAG OF THIS," GOT UP, THANKED BRANT FOR GETTING ME BOOTED OUT, AND LAUGHED ALL THE WAY OUT THE DOOR. I JUST COULDN'T GET MAD AT HIM, AT LEAST FOR ANY GREAT LENGTH OF TIME. HE MADE ME LAUGH AT MYSELF, AND I'VE BEEN DOING IT EVER SINCE, WITH GREAT REWARDS.
I FEEL A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED, THAT NO ONE WOULD GIVE ME A CALL, ABOUT HIS PASSING, BUT THEN AGAIN, IT'S LIKELY BRANT DIDN'T WANT A ROOKIE WRITER LIKE ME, HANDLING HIS FINAL CHAPTER. I REMEMBER ASKING HIM TO BE MY BEST MAN, BACK IN 1983, AND HIM REJECTING THE VERY IDEA OF IT, BECAUSE HE DID LIKE POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE; HE WASN'T PATIENT ABOUT SOME OF THESE FORMALITIES, AND TO DEMONSTRATE HIS IDEA OF LIBERATION FROM CONVENTION, WOULD WEAR A SUIT-COAT AND RUNNING SHOES TO THE STAFF CHRISTMAS PARTIES. IT MUST HAVE BOTHERED HIM THEN, THAT FROM THAT POINT ON, WE STARTED TO COPY HIM, AS A NEWSPAPER, JAMES DEAN, BY WEARING SUIT COATS AND RUNNING SHOES. A LOT OF PEOPLE LOOKED UP TO BRANT, BUT IT'S NOT REALLY WHAT HE WANTED. I REMEMBER, ONE DAY, HIM TELLING A HIGH SCHOOL JOURNALISM STUDENT, WE WERE EMPLOYING ON A CO-OP PROGRAM, "KID, PLEASE DON'T USE ME AS A ROLE MODEL. YOU'LL REGRET IT, AND YOU'LL GET KICKED OUT OF SCHOOL." HE WAS RIGHT ABOUT THIS. BRANT WAS IRREVERENT, ALL THE TIME, BUT HIS AMAZING SENSE OF HUMOR, MADE IT ALL WORK TO HIS BENEFIT.
I COULD WRITE A BOOK ABOUT BRANT SCOTT. BUT I WON'T. I THINK HE JUST GAVE ME A HEAVENLY SWAT ON THE BACK OF THE HEAD, FOR WRITING THIS MUCH ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIP. IT WAS PRETTY CRAZY, AND I SAW STUFF! BUT FOR ONE LAST STORY, AS A HALF PAYBACK FOR CALLING ME A "WALL OF MEAT," ESPECIALLY IN FRONT OF GIRLS I WANTED TO DATE, WAS THE EVENING HE HAD BEEN BROUGHT TO HIS KNEES BY TWO POUNDS OF GROUND PORK. HE HAD INVITED ME OVER TO SHARE OUR PAYCHEQUE BOUNTY, THAT SATURDAY NIGHT, ON ONE OF THE COLDEST WINTER NIGHTS OF THE YEAR. I WAS JUST CROSSING OVER MEMORIAL PARK, FROM MY APARTMENT ON UPPER MANITOBA STREET, TO HIS HOUSE-APARTMENT, ON THE CORNER OF NELSON STREET AND KIMBERLY AVENUE, WHEN I NOTICED A PLUME OF WHITE SMOKE COMING FROM THE FRONT DOOR. BRANT HAD JUST SWUNG OPEN THE MAIN DOOR, LEADING TO HIS APARTMENT ON THE GROUND FLOOR. I STARTED TO RUN TO HELP, BECAUSE AS GOD IS MY WITNESS, I THOUGH THE WHOLE HOUSE WAS GOING UP IN FLAMES. BY TIME I GOT TO THE DOOR, WHAT I THOUGHT WAS A STRUCTURAL FIRE, THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SHOWING BLACK SMOKE (BRANT AND I COVERED A LOT OF FIRES ON OUR NEWS BEAT), WAS MORE LIKE A GREASY VAPOR. IT SMELLED LOVELY. I WAS HUNGRY AND THIS WAS ALLURING MORE THAN AN EVENT TO FEAR. WHEN I GOT TO HIS APARTMENT DOOR, HE WAS ON THE FLOOR OF HIS LIVING ROOM, LAYING DOWN TOWELS ALONG THE BASEBOARD AS FAR AS THEY WOULD STRETCH. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO," I YELLED AT HIM, ABOVE THE RATTLE OF THE FAN ABOVE THE STOVE, AND ANOTHER SMALLER FAN HE HAD SET TO EXIT THE WHITE SMOKE.
"I FOUND OUT WHAT HAPPENS TO TWO POUNDS OF GROUND PORK IN A FRYING PAN, LEFT UNATTENDED," HE SAID, TRYING TO CATCH THE LITERAL CASCADE OF LIBERATED GREASE, DRIPPING DOWN ALL OF HIS WALLS. YOU SEE, BRANT LOVED TO TALK. EVEN A TRIP TO THE CORNER STORE, ACROSS THE ROAD, COULD CREATE A CONVERSATIONAL SITUATION, EVEN IF JUST WITH THE SALES CLERK. SO LEAVING THE APARTMENT WITH TWO POUNDS OF PORK IN A FRYING PAN, ON A TOO-HOT BURNER, WAS A BAD, BAD IDEA. HE COULD HAVE BURNED THE HOUSE DOWN, BECAUSE THE FRYING PAN WAS IN ITS LAST STAGE OF INTEGRITY, AS COOKWARE, AND THERE WAS NO, AND I MEAN NO PORK LEFT IN THE PAN. IT HAD BEEN REDUCED TO A SORT THICK DELICIOUS VAPOR, THAT HAD INFILTRATED EVERYTHING IN HIS APARTMENT. HE HAD FOUND A REASON TO ENGAGE SOMEONE HE MET AT THE VARIETY STORE, AND BY TIME HE REMEMBERED THE FRYING PORK, IT WAS ALREADY GONE AS A MEAT ENTITY. IT WAS IN THE FIBRES OF HIS UPHOLSTERED COUCH, CHAIRS, DRAPES, AND EVEN THE CLOTHING ON HIS BED, BECAUSE THE DOOR WAS OPEN AT THE TIME. HE DESERVED A CRYING JAG, OR TO BE ANGRY AT HIMSELF, BUT THAT WAS NOT HIS CHARACTER. DINNER IS GOING TO BE A LITTLE LATE, HE SAID, BUT THOSE WERE NOT HIS EXACT WORDS. I CAN NOT PRINT THOSE WITHOUT BEING REPRIMANDED. SUFFICE TO SAY, WE ATE AT A RESTAURANT THAT DAY.
I COULD GO ON AND ON AND ON. BUT I HAVE TO STOP, OR I WILL USE UP CYBERSPACE. HE WAS FAR MORE IMPORTANT TO ME, EVEN TODAY, AND DESPITE HAVING NOT SEEN EACH OTHER IN MANY YEARS, WE COULD RESUME A CONVERSATION AS IF WE HAD BEEN NEVER BE APART. HE WOULD HATE ME TO REFER TO HIM AS A SOUL MATE. HE WOULD NOT LIKE ME TO BECOME EMOTIONAL, OR IN ANY REAL WAY, SHOW THAT I LOVED THE GUY. WE WERE TWO HOCKEY PLAYING BAD ASSES, ON THE ICE (BRANT WAS THE ORIGINATOR OF THE RINK RATS HOCKEY TEAM, STILL IN EXISTENCE), AND SKIRT CHASING TOMCATS IN OUR BACHELOR YEARS, AND REPORTERS WHO RE-WROTE HOW THE COMMUNITY PRESS WAS SUPPOSED TO ACT, AND OBEY THE ELITE OF OUR COMMUNITIES. WE WERE IN TROUBLE CONSTANTLY, AS A RESULT, OF HIS LEADERSHIP, AND MY WILLINGNESS TO FOLLOW. I KNEW HE WOULD GET US THERE EVENTUALLY, SO I JUST HAD TO HAVE FAITH HIS INDIRECT PATH WOULD GET US HOME AGAIN, IN TIME FOR PRESS DEADLINE, AND THEN, WELL, FOR LAST CALL.
I WILL NEVER FORGET, SITTING AT RIVERSIDE INN, IN BRACEBRIDGE, AFTER A BRUTAL PRESS NIGHT, LISTENING TO THE PIANO PLAYER, WHO I BELIEVE WAS HIS FORMER BAND-MATE (SOUTHPAW), KEITH LUMLEY, (PRECISION MUSIC IN BRACEBRIDGE), WHEN OUR HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER, CAME IN FOR A BEER, AND TOLD US JOHN LENNON HAD JUST BEEN SHOT AND KILLED. WE SAT THERE STUNNED FOR A FEW MOMENTS, UNTIL BRANT SUGGESTED, THAT WE MUST CELEBRATE HIS LIFE; AND THE ROUNDS WERE PLENTIFUL RIGHT TO LAST CALL. IT WAS OUR RESOLUTION, AS A TRIO, FROM THAT POINT, TO APPRECIATE THAT WE ARE HERE FOR A SHORT TIME, NOT A LONG TIME, AND WE SHOULD MAKE THE MOST OF EVERY MOMENT. WE WATCHED OUT OVER THE MUSKOKA RIVER, AS IT CURRENTED ITS WAY TO THE LAKE, AND FOR LONG STRETCHES, WE ENJOYED THE SILENCE OF FRIENDSHIP.
TO THE FAMILY OF BRANT SCOTT, OUR FAMILY EXPRESSES OUR DEEP, AND SINCERE SYMPATHY, AT THE LOSS OF A DEAR, DOTING HUSBAND AND FATHER. WE BRAGGED ABOUT OUR FAMILIES EVERY TIME WE EXCHANGED EMAILS, THE LATEST BEING IN JULY. WHEN A READER SENT AN EMAIL RECENTLY, COMPLIMENTING MY WRITING, NOT SO MUCH THE SUBJECT, I HONESTLY WANTED TO TAKE THE COMPLIMENT AND BE DONE WITH IT. BUT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE HOLDING AN ILL-GOTTEN DIPLOMA OR TROPHY, BECAUSE BRANT SCOTT HELPED ME HONE MY SKILLS OVER A LOT OF YEARS. I NEVER THANKED HIM, BUT IF I HAD, HE WOULD HAVE QUICKLY CHANGED THE SUBJECT. EITHER HE WOULD NOT TAKE CREDIT FOR MY WRITING, BECAUSE HE THOUGHT IT SUCKED, OR BECAUSE HE WAS RELUCTANT TO ACCEPT CREDIT FOR BEING A GOOD TEACHER (BECAUSE HE HAD KIND OF A THING ABOUT TEACHERS, BASED ON SOME OF HIS OWN BAD EXPERIENCES AS A STUDENT).
SUZANNE AND I ARE GOING OUT TONIGHT, ON A SHOPPING TRIP TO BRACEBRIDGE, AND I AM GOING TO VISIT SOME OF OUR OLD HAUNTS, WHERE WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME CONSOLING EACH OTHER, ABOUT FAILED RELATIONSHIPS, ECONOMIC HARDSHIPS, AND TOO LITTLE CASH RESERVE FOR MORE THAN ONE JUG OF DRAFT AT THE OLD ALBION, OUR LOCAL ADAPTATION OF THE PRESS CLUB. BUT WE GOT BY, AND MOVED ON IN LIFE, AND I THINK, ACHIEVED SOME SUCCESSES ALONG THE WAY. I KNOW SO.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
THE BRANT SCOTT WHO LAUNCHED THE HERALD-GAZETTE RINK RATS
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The Herald Gazette Rink Rats and Bracebridge Blades and a 1980's circa Santa Claus Parade.
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BRACEBRIDGE AND THE CHRISTMAS SPIRITS - THE SANTA CLAUS PARADE - THE RINK RATS HOCKEY TEAM OF ONCE, LONG AGO
IN SUPPORT OF THE BRACEBRIDGE BLADES PRECISION SKATING TEAM
ONE QUIET AFTERNOON, PROBABLY ON A SNOWY THURSDAY JUST LIKE TODAY, BACK IN THE LATE FALL OF 1981, THREE HERALD-GAZETTE, AND TWO MUSKOKA GRAPHICS EMPLOYEES, GOT TOGETHER AT THE COFFEE URN, MIDWAY BETWEEN THE PRINTING COMPONENT OF MUSKOKA PUBLICATIONS, AND THE NEWSPAPER OFFICES......AND AFTER COMPARING REASONS WE HATED OUR JOBS, STARTED TALKING ABOUT "SAY LADS, WE SHOULD START UP A HOCKEY TEAM."
I WAS ONE OF THE STAFFERS, BRANT SCOTT, AND HAROLD WRIGHT, THE OTHERS, FROM THE NEWSPAPER SIDE, AND THERE WAS JIM WRIGHT AND HARRY RANGER FROM THE PRINT DEPARTMENT. HARRY, BY THE WAY, PASSED AWAY THIS YEAR. HE WOULD BECOME OUR FIRST GOALTENDER, ON THE FLEDGLING "HERALD-GAZETTE RINK RATS." BRANT, A REPORTER AND RESPECTED COLUMNIST, AUTHOR OF "A WEE BISCUIT," RAN WITH THE IDEA, AND SOON HAD CONVINCED PARKS AND RECREATION MANAGER, TOM ROBINSON, TO AFFORD US SOME LEFTOVER ICE TIME AT THE COMMUNITY CENTRE. I THINK WE STARTED OFF THAT SEASON, PAYING TWENTY-FIVE TO THIRTY BUCKS AN HOUR. THE HITCH? OUR ICE TIME BEGAN AT 11:00 P.M. AND ENDED AT MIDNIGHT. IT WAS AN AWFUL TIME TO PLAY SHINNY, BUT THE RINK RATS BECAME A SORT OF FRATERNAL ORGANIZATION WITHOUT US EVER INTENDING TO CREATE MORE THAN A "NO FRILLS" OUTLET, FOR FRIENDS AND ASSOCIATES OF OUR NEWSPAPER. I SHOULD NOTE, BEFORE I GO ANY FURTHER, THAT, THANKS TO FOLKS LIKE GORD DAWES, THE RINK RATS ARE STILL ICING A TEAM EVERY YEAR, AND DOING THE SAME KIND OF FUNDRAISING WORK AS WE COMMENCED BACK IN THOSE FIRST FEW YEARS. THE ONLY THING DIFFERENT, OTHER THAN A FULL TRANSITION OF PLAYERS, IS THAT "THE HERALD-GAZETTE" HAS BEEN DROPPED FROM THE TEAM NAME. THE PAPER ISN'T PUBLISHED ANY MORE, AND THE LETTERS FROM OUR OLD OFFICE BUILDING, THAT SPELLED IT OUT, ARE NOW IN A CARDBOARD BOX TUCKED IN MY SHED.
BRANT AND I BOTH USED OUR NEWSPAPER COLUMNS TO RUSTLE-UP SUPPORT FOR OUR NEW HOCKEY CLUB, AND HE WAS ABLE TO WEASLE SOME COMPANY MONEY, TO RUN A CHARITY GAME AT THE ARENA, BETWEEN US AND THE CKVR NO-STARS; AS A SORT OF PUBLIC LAUNCH OF A MEDIA "SPECTACLE" TEAM IN BRACEBRIDGE. THE CAMERAS LOVED US BABY. OUR CAMERAS. BRANT WAS ABLE TO ORCHESTRATE MASSIVE PUBLICITY, WHEN WE DID EVENTUALLY TAKE ON THE ELECTRONIC MEDIA, AND HE WAS SO THOROUGH, HE WAS ABLE TO CONVINCE TORONTO SUN COLUMNIST, PAUL RIMSTEAD, A FORMER BRACEBRIDGE KID, TO COME NORTH FOR THE GAME AS THE CELEBRITY ANNOUNCER. RIMSTEAD WAS JUST LAUNCHING A NEW BOOK, AND BRANT HAD DONE SOME PROMOTION OF IT IN HIS COLUMN. GLORY BE, RIMMER AGREED, AND IT WAS HIS PRESENCE AT THE GAME, AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, THAT FILLED THE BRACEBRIDGE ARENA TO OVER 1,700 FANS. IT SURE AS HECK WASN'T THE DRAW OF THE RINK RATS OR THE NO-STARS. WE MIGHT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DRAW THREE OR FOUR HUNDRED INCLUDING FAMILY MEMBERS. HOMETOWNERS WANTED TO SEE THE KID WHO USED TO CHASE FIRE TRUCKS, AS A STRINGER FOR THE ORILLIA PACKET AND TIMES. THE KID WHO USED TO HANG AROUND JOE'S BILLIARDS, ON MANITOBA STREET, WITH SOON-TO-BE HOCKEY ALL-STAR ROGER CROZIER. RIMMER AND HIS PARTNER, MISS HINKY, WERE THE STAR ATTRACTION. IT WAS GOOD TO SEE, THAT FOLKS IN BRACEBRIDGE WANTED TO SHOW THEIR RESPECT, AND PRIDE, FOR HOW PAUL HAD MADE IT TO THE BIG LEAGUES OF NEWSPAPERS, LIKE THE TORONTO SUN, AND SISTER PUBLICATIONS IN EDMONTON AND CALGARY. COMPLETE WITH STETSON, PAUL RIMSTEAD WITHOUT KNOWING IT, LAUNCHED A RECREATIONAL HOCKEY TEAM THAT HAS LASTED ALL THESE YEARS.....BASED ON GOODWILL AND BENEVOLENCE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY. IN FACT, THE RECREATIONAL FUNDRAISER, "THE LOVEABLE LOSERS TOURNAMENT," HELD EACH MARCH, WAS THE RESULT OF THE WORK OF THAT SAME GROUP OF NEWSIES AND FRIENDS. I EVEN CAME UP WITH THE TITLE. BACK THEN, ED KOWALSKY, WAS THE MOVER AND SHAKER, AND KEPT IT UP FOR QUITE A FEW YEARS, UNTIL EXHAUSTION AND BROKEN BODIES CAME INTO PLAY.
THIS ISN'T GOING TO BE A FORMAL HISTORY OF THE RINK RATS. MAYBE ONE DAY. WHAT INSPIRED ME THIS CHRISTMAS, WAS THE FACT I ACCIDENTALLY, FOUND TWO OLD PHOTOGRAPHS, WHEN RIMSTEAD'S BOOK, "COCKTAILS AND JOCKSTRAPS," FELL BEHIND MY DESK.....AND WHEN I BENT OVER TO PICK IT UP, NOTICED MY RINK RAT KEEPSAKES HAD BEEN DISLODGE. THEY HAD BEEN IN THAT BOOK SINCE AROUND THE TIME OF THE BENEFIT GAME. THESE ARE PUBLISHED ABOVE, AND WERE TAKEN SOMETIME, IN EITHER 1982 OR 1983, DURING A SANTA CLAUS PARADE THROUGH DOWNTOWN BRACEBRIDGE. THE PHOTOGRAPHER WAS HAROLD WRIGHT, FROM THE HERALD-GAZETTE PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT. WE WERE PROBABLY PROMOTING THE CKVR BENEFIT GAME, BECAUSE I'M UP ON THE TRUCK WEARING MY OWN STETSON, RIMSTEAD STYLE, AND THE GIRLS IN SKATING COSTUMES, WERE REPRESENTING THE BRACEBRIDGE BLADES PRECISION SKATING TEAM, THAT WOULD BE THE RECIPIENT OF FUNDS RAISED. THE CHAP WITH A STICK, HELD UP TO HIS CHIN, FURTHER BACK IN THE PHOTOGRAPH, IS THE BLADES COACH, HAROLD SHER, WHO WAS ALSO ONE OF THE ALL STAR RINK RATS. WE ONLY HAD TWO ALL STARS. HAROLD WAS ONE. MIKE HILLBORN, THE OTHER. BOTH COULD RAG THE PUCK FOR A HALF HOUR, TO LET US GET OUR BREATH BACK. THE REST OF US WERE JUST HAPPY, TO STILL BE ABLE TO SKATE UP AND DOWN THE ICE A COUPLE OF TIMES EACH GAME.
IN THE PHOTOGRAPH, ARE A FEW OF THE RINK RATS OF THE DAY, CIRCA 1982. THEY INCLUDED, BRANT SCOTT, READY FOR THE FACE-OFF, JIM WRIGHT, CHARLIE TRYON (ON THE VEHICLE), ALISTAIR TAYLOR, DRIVING THE TRUCK, ED KOWALSKY, HAROLD SHER, ME ON THE FLOAT WITH HARRY RANGER, TUCKED INTO THE EVERGREENS. THOSE LADS ON GROUND LEVEL, PLAYED SHINNY ALONG THE ENTIRE PARADE ROUTE, SOUTH ON MANITOBA STREET, AND WERE THEY EVER EXHAUSTED BY TIME WE LANDED BACK AT THE ARENA. ALISTAIR, HARRY AND I, WERE IN GOOD SHAPE. THE OTHER PHOTOGRAPH FROM THE TOP OF A BUILDING WAS ALSO TAKEN BY HAROLD, BUT I'M NOT SURE NOW WHERE THAT LOCATION WAS EXACTLY. WE ALL HAD A GOOD TIME THAT AFTERNOON, AND THE BLADES SKATERS WERE ALWAYS WILLING TO HELP US OUT......AND OFTEN PUT ON PERFORMANCES DURING THE INTERMISSIONS OF OUR BENEFIT HOCKEY GAMES. BY THE WAY, I HAVE A CERTIFICATE THAT AFFORDS ME "HONORARY FLYING FATHER" STATUS, AFTER A BENEFIT GAME WITH THOSE FINE CHAPS, SEVERAL YEARS AFTER THE "NO-STARS," GAME. NOW THAT WAS A GAME OF HOLY HOCKEY IF EVER THERE WAS ONE.
I'M TRULY SORRY I NEVER KEPT A COMPLETE LIST OF RINK RATS IN THOSE EARLY YEARS. SOME PLAYED FOR A SEASON OR TWO, WHILE OTHERS LASTED THROUGH MOST OF A DECADE. I RETIRED FROM THE RINK RATS IN THE EARLY 1990'S, AFTER WE MOVED TO GRAVENHURST. IT WAS ONE THING TO WALK TWO BLOCKS TO THE BRACEBRIDGE ARENA, FROM MY OLD APARTMENT IN THE MCGIBBON HOUSE, ON MANITOBA STREET, BUT QUITE ANOTHER TO DRIVE IN ALL KINDS OF WEATHER FROM GRAVENHURST FOR THOSE LATE NIGHT GAMES. I SAT OUT FOR A FEWS YEARS, AND MADE A ONE GAME COME-BACK, WHEN GORD DAWES SUGGESTED THERE WAS A SPOT TO FILL ON THE BENCH. I KNEW I COULD BE A GOOD BENCH WARMER. WHEN I TRIED TO SKATE, GOSH, IT WAS LIKE THE DAY MY MOTHER FASTENED BOB SKATES ONTO MY WINTER BOOTS, AND SET ME LOOSE ON A STRETCH OF RAMBLE CREEK IN BURLINGTON. AS I ALMOST KILLED MYSELF THAT DAY, I SHORT-SHIFTED MYSELF THAT NIGHT AT THE ARENA, AND WHEN THOSE SKATES CAME OFF....THEY NEVER WENT BACK ON. THEY'RE STILL HANGING OFF THE WALL ON THE VERANDAH, WHERE I LEFT THEM THE MORNING AFTER THAT FINAL GAME.
SOME OF THE KINDLY SOULS, WHO HELPED US FUNDRAISE IN THOSE YEARS.....AND WHO MADE THE RINK RATS A LOT OF FUN TO BE ASSOCIATED, INCLUDED PLAYERS LIKE JON PARTRIDGE, GORD MARTIN, PETER RENNICK, DAVE WHITESIDE, JOHN O'BYRNE, ED KOWALSKY, ALISTAIR TAYLOR, JIM WRIGHT, BRANT SCOTT, GIL SCOTT, DOUG DUNFORD, DAN BARNES, GINO FARRARI, HARRY RANGER, HAROLD WRIGHT, HAROLD SHER, SCOTT MCCLELLAN, JERRY AUCOIN, KEVIN PEAKE, TERRY CURTIS, MIKE GAVIN, DAVE BROWN, AND MIKE HILLBORN. IN THE LATE 1980'S, TO KEEP OUR TEAM AFLOAT, AFTER MANY DEPARTURES DUE TO OLD AGE, WE AMALGAMATED WITH OTHER RECREATIONAL HOCKEYISTS, AND CREATED "THE WOMBATS," WHICH WAS THE TRANSITION POINT, FROM THE OLD GUARD TO THE NEW, BRINGING GORD DAWES, THE HEART AND SOUL OF THE NEW ERA RINK RATS, STILL GOING STRONG. SOME OF THE NAMES FROM THIS TRANSITION PERIOD, OF THE NEW RAT SQUAD, WERE LADS LIKE GERRY MOORE, WAYNE MOORE, ED RENTON, ROBIN SUMMERLY, RON RICKER, NORM LEVESQUE, KIM HAMMOND, PHIL LANGOIS, BARRY SALTER, TIM UREN, DAVE AUGER AND A DOZEN OR SO MORE, THAT HONESTLY HAVE SLIPPED MY MIND. NOT MY HEART. JUST MY CREAKING OLD MEMORY.
WE USED TO ASK THESE SENIOR RECREATIONALISTS, WITH THEIR KNOBBLY KNEES, TO GIVE OF THEMSELVES ON THE ICE, TO KEEP US FROM BEING HUMILIATED ON THE SCOREBOARD, AND WE ASKED EVEN MORE, WHEN WE PUT ON FUNDRAISERS TO HELP COMMUNITY GROUPS. THEY DID SO GENEROUSLY AND ANNUALLY, AND IT'S NEAT TO LOOK BACK ON THE CLUB AND REALIZE HOW MUCH HISTORY HAS ACTUALLY BEEN MADE, BY A SMALL HUDDLE OF MUSKOKA PUBLICATIONS EMPLOYEES, SHIRKING WORK THAT DAY, ABOUT THIRTY-THREE YEARS AGO. WE'D LIKE TO THINK SO ANYWAY.
BACK IN THE EARLY PART OF THE CENTURY, THE MODERN ERA RINK RATS HONORED ED KOWALSKY, HARRY RANGER AND I, AT CENTRE ICE, AT THE START OF THAT YEAR'S LOVEABLE LOSERS HOCKEY TOURNAMENT. NOW THAT WAS A PROUD MOMENT, TO STAND WITH THOSE TWO OLD RATS, AND WE ALL APPRECIATED THE RECOGNITION. WE WERE EACH PRESENTED NEW HOCKEY JERSEYS WITH OUR ORIGINAL RINK RAT LOGO, WHICH BY THE WAY, HAD BEEN DESIGNED FOR US, IN THE EARLY 1980'S, BY A LOCAL ARTIST, CHRIS MINZ, FORMERLY A TALENTED ART STUDENT AT BRACEBRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL.
TWO PLAYERS OF THE RINK RATS PASSED AWAY RECENTLY, AND IT WAS QUITE A BLOW TO THE KINSHIP WE'D ALWAYS HAD ON THE TEAM. KIM HAMMOND WAS THE FIRST TO PASS AWAY, SEVERAL YEARS AGO, AND JUST RECENTLY, IT WAS HARRY RANGER, BOTH KIND SOULS WHO BROUGHT GOOD HUMOUR TO THE CLUB, AND TO ANY EVENT WE PARTICIPATED. THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES.
I LOVED THOSE YEARS. I LOVED THOSE GUYS. I LOVED THE ADVENTURE....THE "AWAY" GAMES, AND THE WAY WE WORKED SO WELL TOGETHER......NOT SO MUCH ON THE ICE, BECAUSE WE SUCKED, BUT IN, AND FOR THE COMMUNITY. BACK THEN, WE RAISED A LOT OF MONEY TO HELP THE BLADES PRECISION SKATING TEAM, AND WE PUT A FAIR BIT OF CASH INTO THE PURCHASE OF A NEW ICE-RESURFACING MACHINE FOR THE TOWN OF BRACEBRIDGE. I KNOW THAT SLEDGE HOCKEY GOT A LOT OF SUPPORT FROM THE LATTER DAY RATS, AMONGST MANY OTHER WORTHWHILE COMMUNITY PROJECTS AND INITIATIVES.
MERRY CHRISTMAS RINK RATS. I WILL NEVER FORGET YOU GUYS.
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