Snacks

• One President’s Choice Fudge Crackle Ice Cream bar – banana split

Lunch

• Subway
  • Foot long oven-roasted chicken breast on Italian herbs and cheese
  • Double American cheese
  • Lettuce, onion, pickles, hot peppers
  • Mustard, mayo, Southwest Chipotle sauce, salt’n’pepper
• A can of Diet Pepsi

Dinner

• Nine Crispy Shake’n Bake chicken drumsticks
• A helping of Uncle Ben’s Fast & Fancy Chinese Style Rice

It’s the “stranded on a desert island” question! You can only take one thing from each category. What is it and why are you taking it?

1. A food that can be planted and regrown.

Cannabis sativa. The hemp that I would be able to extract from it could come in handy. I could live off the hemp seeds, make milk from them, etc. I could make hemp clothes, hemp rope, even a hemp sail for the boat I would build to get off the island when I finally got bored… or IF I got bored. There’s also the benefit that it smells nice, especially when put on a fire… but I might not do that often considering that I’d be stranded on a desert island which probably wouldn’t have much food.

2. A person you haven’t seen in a long time.

Hmmm… so, basically someone that I haven’t hung out with in a while, yet would feel the desire to drag along into exile? I’m sure he or she would kill me in my sleep for doing so. But, if I must provide an answer, then I’ll drag Cvon kicking and screaming with me.

3. A book you (were) read as a child.

For what? So I could use it to start a fire? Do magazines count? When I was younger I found my Dad’s stash of Playboys… but I wasn’t much interested in “reading” them. 

4. A celebrity.

A celebrity too? Do I still have to bring Cvon then? Okay… okay… I kid. If I had to bring a celebrity, it’d probably be Tommy Chong. He makes me laugh, and he’d be a cool dude to hang out with. However, I’d have to make sure he stayed away from my cannabis sativa.

5. The entire episode run of a television show (it’s a very nice desert island).

I’d bring along the entire series of “Gilligan’s Island“. They may not have been able to figure out how to make a boat, but they had damn near everything else. I wonder if there would be a bonus DVD complete with instructions on how to build half the crap they had…?

Today would have been his 63rd birthday.

Naturally, losing one’s Father hits a person hard, especially if you had the same caring and respectful relationship that I did with my Father, but to lose him so close to my birthday, and also so close to his, has had a massive impact upon me.

It still seems like this is one big giant mistake or misunderstanding. That he might show up one day and say “What the hell!? You thought I was dead!? I was on a MUCH needed vacation and forgot to tell you!”, yet those thoughts are more painful than anything else. Pretending that he hasn’t passed away doesn’t make it easier… it makes it harder. I just still can’t believe he is gone. Doesn’t seem possible.

People have been telling me that eventually the pain will subside and life will go on. I know they mean well, and I thank them for those comforting words, but from my standpoint, my heart has been ripped out of my chest and I don’t think the pain will ever go away. To tell the truth, right now, I don’t want it to… it seems like that would be diminishing his memory in some way.

For me, it will forever feel like something is lacking in the world, and I honestly never thought I would say this, but I would give anything to hear him tell one of his god-awful “Dad Jokes” right about now.

Happy birthday, old man. I’m celebrating it in your absence.

Thanks to everyone for your kind words and offers of support during this trying time. It is most appreciated, and has shown me how truely blessed I am to have you all as my friends. The last number of days have been quite hectic and draining, yet I have read each and every message and email you have sent, and I hope to be able to respond personally in the next few days.

For those of you who knew or met my Father, and if you’re located in the Toronto area and would like to attend his wake, here is the obituary we had placed within the Saturday Star and Sunday Star, which details the when and the where:

Please do not feel bad if you cannot attend; knowing your thoughts are with us is comfort in itself. However, if you are able to attend, please let me know.

Again, thank you all for your kindness and support.