November 2017

Well, I think the best statement to make about October would have been:

That didn’t go as expected.

As a monthly update goes – October really had its ups and downs.
I got to fly to Halifax to see the kids after our drive to BC to my parents for Thanksgiving.

That was the good part of the month.

Devin Taylor – RIP October 17, 2017

While in Halifax, I got a call that a very close friend had passed.  So, I made the necessary adjustments to my flights home, booked a one way ticket to BC, and got moving.
My goal was to stay and help as much as I could, as I am very aware of the process and paperwork after a person has passed away.

The common discussion point among old friends that I visited with when home, was that it didn’t seem real. This doesn’t make sense.

He was 47.  He was not in bad health.  Over stressed from work – but who doesn’t feel that pain.

I am glad I got to visit with him during our visit to BC for thanksgiving.

His passing will lead to a future blog post – one that I have been avoiding a little bit, but it is in my notes as one that I should do – specifically with addressing a topic that many don’t want to discuss.  That is a persons mortality.  I will also mention some of the things we did for his celebration of life to enhance the celebration part of it…. to help people discuss mortality.

On my cancer front – I was nuclear’d again.  Had that scan just before thanksgiving.

I don’t have much planned for November – so after returning from a couple of weeks in BC after Devin’s Celebration, I think I really need the rest – correction – I know I need the rest.

Motorcycling is done for the season – snow is down, and daytime highs are not getting above freezing – so, some cleaning, fuel stabilizer, and put the cover on.  It is time… sigh.

November brings into light a topic that I have touched on before, but tend to keep my distance from diving in too deeply (for now) – Veterans and Remembrance Day.  It isn’t that I don’t want to, I want to wait until I can jump on bandwagons firmly and solidly.
My Facebook feed is full of commentary about what our Prime Minister is doing away from Ottawa on the day we pay our respects to our war dead – those that have died fulfilling the mandate that the men and woman (she signed my commissioning scroll) that have held the office – or people getting mad about christmas lights/songs.  It’s the time of year for that I guess… and in reality, with a large percentage of my Facebook friends being former or currently serving member of the Canadian Armed Forces, I shouldn’t be surprised.   My plan is to avoid giving my 2 cent on that until the time is right – don’t worry, I have all my notes and ideas.
I have met many people as I have tried to maintain my support of a large number of Veterans organizations, mostly because I know that in the years to come, I will become one of the cranky Veterans that is frustrated fighting for benefits and services that would have been promised.

Some of the people I have met are in Ottawa this week, holding press conferences, (here is an example) meeting with various politicians and other Veteran groups/stakeholders/crankypants etc.  They will also be attending the Nov 11th ceremony in Ottawa as well.

The groups you should consider checking out:
The Equitas Society is the group that was fighting for a class action lawsuit against the federal government, that the government said they would not take Veterans to court – I will leave it up to you to develop your own opinion about how that is going if you check out their website.
Military Minds Inc is a PTSD peer support network with worldwide reach that was started by a Canadian Veteran.

If you are looking for some Veteran causes to support – these are 2 that I would recommend.

Anyway, thanks for following along on the journey.
The best thing I can ask you do for me, is to share the site/page to others that you think will be interested.

Talk again soon.

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