Christmas memories from John McC

NEVER A CHRISTMAS MORNING,

NEVER THE OLD YEAR ENDS,

BUT SOMEONE THINKS OF SOMEONE,

OLD DAYS, OLD TIMES, OLD FRIENDS

AND WELCOME TO THE 13^TH ANNUAL MCCONACHIE

AUDIO CHRISTMAS CARD

I FIRST SAW THIS PIECE OF POETRY MANY YEARS AGO, HAND WRITTEN ON A CHRISTMAS CARD FROM A HIGH SCHOOL  FRIEND OF LONG AGO THAT I HADN’T SEEN NOR SPOKEN TO FOR MANY YEARS. ALTHOUGH HE WAS LIVING IN CALGARY HE SOMEHOW  HAD MANAGED TO TRACK ME DOWN . THIS BEFORE THE ADVENT OF THE INTERNET. WE DID TALK ON THE PHONE ONCE,AGREED TO STAY IN TOUCH AND PERHAPS  MEET SOMEWHERE, SOME TIME, IN THE FUTURE. HIS FUTURE THOUGH WAS MUCH SHORTER THAN EITHER OF US HAD CONTEMPLATED. ABOUT SIX MONTHS AFTER HIS CARD ARRIVED TOM CALLED TO SAY GOODBYE BECAUSE HE WAS DYING OF CANCER AT THE VERY YOUNG AGE OF 25. WHEN WE FIRST MET IN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL HE WAS LIVING IN UPPER WESTMOUNT AND I WAS A RESIDENT OF WEREDALE BOYS HOME IN LOWER WESTMOUNT—GEOGRAPHICALLY MAYBE ONLY 3/4 OF A MILE SEPARATED US BUT SOCIALLY WE WERE MILES APART---- AND ALTHOUGH WE WERE REALLY ONLY FRIENDS FOR APPROXIMATELY TWO YEARS BEFORE I LEFT THE HOME AND RETURNED TO LIVE IN GREENFIELD PARK, THAT RELATIONSHIP WAS AS STRONG AS ANY OTHER FRIENDSHIPS I HAVE HAD .

 I DO CONSIDER MYSELF EXTREMELY FORTUNATE FOR THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE CROSSED MY PATH AND HAVE EXTENDED ME THEIR HAND OF FRIENDSHIP . I HAVE RECIPROCATED AND THAT HAS BEEN ONE OF THE REAL JOYS OF MY LIFE. WHETHER IT WAS THE BOYS FROM THE THIRD STREET GANG, AS WE TITLED OURSELVES, THAT I HUNG AROUND WITH WHEN I WAS A YOUNGSTER, OR HIGH SCHOOL FRIENDS LIKE TOM OR GUS OR CLIFF,OR FRIENDS FROM UNIVERSITY,VARIOUS SPORT TEAMMATES OR BUSINESS ASSOCIATES,  I HAVE BEEN BLESSED AND MY LIFE ENHANCED BECAUSE OF THE ECLECTIC MIX OF PEOPLE THAT I AM PROUD TO HAVE CALLED FRIEND.

 PROOF OF THE STRENGTH OF THOSE FRIENDSHIPS ARE DEMONSTRATED TO ME YEAR IN AND YEAR OUT. THREE YEARS AGO THE ROSEMOUNT BOMBERS FOOTBALL TEAM THAT I WAS A MEMBER OF HELD A REUNION TO CELEBRATE THE 50^TH ANNIVERSARY OF OUR CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIP VICTORY IN 1960  . 33 OF THE 40 MAN ROSTER .3 OF 4 COACHES AND 3 OF 4 ADMIN STAFF SHOWED UP.UNFORTUNATELY 6 OF THE NINE WHO DIDN’T SHOW HAD PASSED AWAY.  IN MOST CASES THOUGH, IT WAS AS IF ONLY A YEAR HAD PASSED AND  NOT THE 45 TO 50 YEARS SINCE WE HAD LAST SEEN ONE ANOTHER. LIKEWISE WITH THE GREENFIELD PARK CENTENNIAL IN 2011.  MORE RECENTLY A FELLOW I HAD WORKED WITH AT THE FORD MOTOR CO AND HAD NOT SEEN SINCE 1966 SENT ME AN E-MAIL FROM VANCOUVER SAYING HE WAS GOING TO BE IN OTTAWA AND COULD WE GET TOGETHER FOR LUNCH WHICH WE DID. AS WELL THIS YEAR I HAVE BEEN CONTACTED BY TWO FELLOWS THAT WERE CO-RESIDENTS OF WEREDALE AND MEMBERS OF A SOFTBALL AND HOCKEY TEAM THAT WE HAD THERE WHICH PLAYED AGAINST LIKE INSTITUTIONS AROUND MONTREAL. THE MOST AMAZING PART OF ALL OF THE ABOVE IS THAT IN MOST CASES THESE FRIENDSHIPS HAVE ENDURED BECAUSE OF A BONDING THAT OCCURRED MANY YEARS AGO AND NOT BECAUSE OF ANNUAL LETTERS OR CARDS OR PHONE CALLS, WHICH ONLY REINFORCES THE DEPTH OF THOSE RELATIONSHIPS.

 JUST ABOUT THREE MONTHS AGO, WHETHER I NEEDED REMINDING OR NOT I WAS ONCE AGAIN CALLED BACK TO THIS THEME OF FRIENDSHIP WHEN A GENTLEMAN BY THE NAME OF GUTHRIE WOODS PASSED AWAY. GUTHRIE WAS A GENTLE  MAN IN THE TRUEST SENSE OF THE WORD. A SCION OF THE FAMOUS CANADIAN WOODS FAMILY, MANUFACTURERS OF TENTS AND MANY OTHER OUTDOOR PRODUCTS , GUTHRIE HAD STARTED A BUSINESS SPECIALIZING IN CUSTOM EMBROIDERED CRESTS, MILITARY AND OTHERWISE, AFTER THE FAMILY BUSINESS WAS SOLD AND THAT WAS HOW I MET HIM SOME 30 ODD YEARS AGO. AFTER A COUPLE OF MEETINGS I DID NOT SEE HIM AGAIN FOR APPROXIMATELY 20 YEARS UNTIL I MET HIM IN OUR LOCAL GROCERY STORE JUST AS I WAS PLANNING MY FIRST AUDIO CHRISTMAS CARD WHICH SOMEHOW CAME UP IN OUR DISCUSSION. HE WAS STILL RUNNING HIS EMBROIDERY BUSINESS BUT HE ALSO TOLD ME THAT HE WAS SPONSORING THE WOODS MANUFACTURING  BRASS BAND HERE IN OTTAWA AND SO I MET HIM AT HIS OFFICE THE NEXT DAY AND HE GAVE ME A COPY OF THE BANDS NEWLY RELEASED  CHRISTMAS ALBUM. 

OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS WE WOULD BUMP INTO EACH OTHER AT THE GROCERY STORE MAYBE TWICE A YEAR BUT REGARDLESS OF THAT LIMITED CONTACT I CONSIDERED US TO BE FRIENDS BASED ON THAT FIRST MEETING 30 YEARS AGO, WHEN WE HIT IT OFF IMMEDIATELY

AND THIS BRINGS ME BACK TO THE CENTRAL THEME OF THIS YEARS ESSAY, THE ROLE OF FRIENDSHIPS AND THE IMPETUS THEY PROVIDED TO THIS AUDIO CHRISTMAS CARD PROJECT. AS I HAVE STATED IN OTHER OF THESE ESSAYS I GREW UP IN A FAMILY WHERE MUSIC WAS A PRIMARY COMPONENT OF DAILY LIFE AND SOCIAL GATHERINGS AND SO THE CONCEPT WAS AN EASY CHOICE. THE FORMAT WAS ANOTHER EASY CHOICE SINCE I HAD BEEN A DEVOTEE OF THE LATE PAUL REID AND HIS EVENING SHOW ON CJAD RADIO IN MONTREAL . 

THE DECISION WAS DOUBLY EASY BECAUSE PAUL AND I HAD BECOME  FRIENDS THROUGH OUR MUTUAL MEMBERSHIP IN THE MONTREAL PRESS CLUB AND OUR MUTUAL APPRECIATION OF FINE MUSIC AND EVEN FINER SINGLE MALT SCOTCH. WE FIRST MET IN 1967, EXPO YEAR, AND I LEFT MONTREAL IN 1971 . AND ALTHOUGH OUR PATHS CROSSED A FEW TIMES AFTER THAT BEFORE HIS MUCH TOO EARLY DEATH AT THE AGE OF 56  IN 1983,THE FOUR YEARS IN MONTREAL CREATED A FRIENDSHIP THAT IS STILL FRESH IN MY MIND.  IT SEEMED TO ME THAT I NEED NOT TRY TO REINVENT THE WHEEL,FOR MY PROJECT BUT TO JUST DUPLICATE PAUL’S FORMAT THAT HAD A PROVEN AND SUCCESSFUL TRACK RECORD, , WITH SOME MINOR MODIFICATIONS.

THE NEXT CHOICE FOR ME WAS THE SELECTION OF THE MUSIC FOR THAT FIRST CARD AND AGAIN FRIENDS CAME TO MIND. IN ADDITION TO USING PAULS TELLING OF THE STORY OF THE LITTLEST ANGEL ,I WENT TO MY MUSIC LIBRARY AND PULLED OUT MY COPY OF THE MONTREAL JUBILATION GOSPEL CHOIR CHRISTMAS DISC AND COPIED A COUPLE OF SONGS FROM THAT DISC.

 I FIRST MET THE CHOIRS DIRECTOR AND FOUNDER TREVOR PAYNE AT ROYAL GEORGE HIGH SCHOOL IN 1958 WHEN I WAS STUDENT COUNCIL PRESIDENT AND TREVOR WAS A MEMBER OF A ROCK AND ROLL GROUP THAT WERE THE FEATURED PERFORMERS  FOR ONE OF OUR SCHOOL DANCES. THE NEXT YEAR WE REUNITED  AS TEAMMATES ON THE ST LAMBERT COMBINES FOOTBALL TEAM AND THEN AGAIN IN 1961 AS TEAMMATES  WITH THE ROSEMOUNT BOMBERS. FROM TIME TO TIME I WOULD SEE SOME MENTION OF TREVOR’S MUSICAL JOURNEY AND IN 1998 WE MET AGAIN IN PERSON WHEN HE BROUGHT HIS CHOIR , AS FEATURED PERFORMERS, FOR A ONE NIGHT CONCERT AT THE  ANNUAL OTTAWA TULIP FESTIVAL AND WE WERE ONCE AGAIN BACK IN 1961.

 

NEXT I PULLED OUT MY COPY OF CHRISTMAS TUNES BY ANOTHER FRIEND, PIANIST JOHN ARPIN AND USED A COUPLE OF THE TUNES ON THE DISC TO HELP FILL OUT MY PLAYLIST. I DID AN OUTLINE OF MY FRIENDSHIP WITH JOHN IN ONE OF THESE  CHRISTMAS CARD ESSAYS A FEW YEARS AGO ON THE OCCASION OF HIS PASSING BUT I FEEL IT WORTH REPEATING A FEW OF THE HIGHLIGHTS  OF OUR FRIENDSHIP IN LIGHT OF THIS YEARS THEME.JOHN AND I MET IN 1981 AT THE WINDSOR ARMS HOTEL WHERE HE WAS THE HOUSE PIANIST AND I WAS LOOKING FOR JUST SUCH A PERSON TO PLAY AT AN ANNUAL FUNCTION I WAS PLANNING. JOHN AGREED TO PLAY FOR THE FIRST ONE AND SO ENJOYED HIMSELF THAT HE DID SO FOR THE NEXT SEVEN YEARS AND WE NEVER DID SIGN A CONTRACT, JUST A  HANDSHAKE WOULD SUFFICE FOR THOSE SEVEN YEARS.. A TESTAMENT TO THE STRENGTH OF THE FRIENSHIP WE HAD DEVELOPED. JOHN WAS A TRUE ARTIST AND IN ALL THOSE SEVEN YEARS I NEVER SAW HIM STUMPED  WHEN ONE OF MY GUESTS AT SAID FUNCTION WOULD ASK HIM TO PLAY WHATEVER TUNE.

 

AFTER DECIDING ON JOHN’S CUTS  I THEN PULLED TWO TUNES FROM THE WOODS BRASS BAND DISC THAT GUTHRIE HAD GIVEN ME AND SUDDENLY I HAD A REAL FOUNDATION FOR MY FIRST CARD ,THANKS TO THESE SPECIAL FRIENDSHIPS I HAD DEVELOPED OVER THE YEARS. I DEEM MYSELF TO HAVE BEEN TRULY BLESSED BECAUSE THESE FOUR SPECIAL PEOPLE HAVE BEEN AND WILL REMAIN A PART OF MY LIFES HISTORY 

GUTHRIES PASSING THIS YEAR LEAVES TREVOR AS THE ONLY SURVIVING MEMBER OF MY MUSE WHICH HELPED ME LAUNCH THIS DREAM OF AN AUDIO CARD BUT  THE MEMORIES OF THESE SPECIAL FRIENDSHIPS  WILL LAST MY LIFETIME .  THE FEELINGS THOSE MEMORIES  PRODUCE BECOME PARTICULARLY VISCERAL EACH YEAR AT THIS TIME AS I PREPARE FOR THE LATEST VERSION OF THE PROJECT. WHEN THE FINISHED PRODUCT COMES OFF THE LINE I WILL FILL A GLASS WITH MY FAVOURITE GINGER ALE AND TOAST  FOUR TALENTED GENTLEMEN AND THANK THEM PRIVATELY FOR THEIR HAND OF ENDURING FRIENDSHIP. THE PUBLIC THANK YOU IS THROUGH THIS ESSAY. AND BEING FAITHFUL TO MY CELTIC HERITAGE, I KNEW THAT IF I WENT ONLINE I WOULD FIND  AN  IRISH PROVERB THAT WOULD PUT, IN A MORE POETIC FORM, A QUOTE THAT WOULD APPROPRIATELY DESCRIBE MY FEELINGS OF GOOD FORTUNE AND GRATITUDE AND I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED. THE FOLOWING SUMS IT UP SO VERY PRECISELY---“MAY THE FRIENDSHIPS YOU MAKE ,BE THOSE THAT ENDURE”  

AND SO FROM OUR HOUSE TO YOURS I WISH YOU ALL “ MERRY CHRISTMAS ,MERRY CHRISTMAS, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND TO CLOSE WITH ANOTHER IRISH PROVERB “  IN THE NEW YEAR,MAY YOUR RIGHT HAND ALWAYS BE STRETCHED OUT IN FRIENDSHIP AND NEVER IN WANT” 

Thanks John