Remembrances of Friends Past

Earlier today, I met with four old friends to honour the passing of a fifth. 

Behind me are Jeff Pitts, Kevin Kelly, Vern Ryan, and Ray Brown, old schoolmates and friends. In the 1980s, we regularly met with our other friend, Paul Ravensdale, to play Dungeons & Dragons, Supremacy, Villains & Vigilantes, console or computer games on various Atari machines--and we even raced around outside too, back in those days before cell phones and the Internet. 

Paul was a tall, strong guy, the kind of person that would have made a terrifying bully for smaller kids. But while Paul had a temper that could be set off under certain circumstances, he was absolutely not a bully, but a stalwart friend with a sadistic sense of humour that really resonated with me. Paul took sinister delight in making things very difficult for our characters when we played roleplaying games in modern settings such as Recon or Top Secret. If we made stupid decisions in Paul's games, we paid dearly. Harsh, but fair, and we always had a blast. 

As often happens, I fell out of touch with Paul (and everyone else in this photo but Jeff), though I did have coffee a couple of times with Paul in the early 2000s. Paul joined the Canadian Armed Forced before his wedding back in 1989 (an event those above attended), and served most of his time in Manitoba. But he worked in Edmonton for a short interim, and that's when we briefly reconnected. 

Paul retained his friendly demeanor, but his experiences overseas had affected him deeply. He didn't speak in specifics, but it was clear he was traumatized by his experiences in the former Yugoslavia during its breakup in the 1990s. 

One of those lunches with Paul in 2002 or 2003 was the last time I saw him. It's a truism that any time we see someone could be the last time, but realizing the reality of it still hits hard. I learned later that Paul experienced further trauma during his military career, and I regret not reaching out again immediately. You never know when it will be too late. 

Ray and Vern were able to travel to Brandon, Manitoba, for Paul's funeral, and organized today's gathering for us to celebrate what would have been Paul's 55th (I believe) birthday. We caught up with each other's lives, shared some laughs, and exchanged some thoughts and memories about Paul. We all remember him fondly; he was a big (literally) part of our lives during some of our most important formative years. 

Miss you, pal. I hope you're at peace. 

 

Ye Olde Yearbook Editor

Here's one of a handful of images of my time as the editor of Leduc Composite High School's yearbook. Could there be a nerdier responsibility? Well, it was fun. And I just noticed the red and black bag behind me, which I used to carry my bags not only for high school, but university.

I recognize Angela Avery beside me, but I'm afraid the name of the other young woman is lost to history. I last ran into Angela sometime in the 1990s; she was a lawyer then, and perhaps remains one today. 

Granular Band

Some Ungood Photography: I suspect I shot this with my old Kodak 110 camera, and that the flash didn't go off, resulting in this incredibly noisy picture. Battle of the Bands in Leduc, February 1986. 

Bindertoons #4

THE STORY BEHIND BINDERTOONS:
The truth is, I don't remember drawing these. But Mom and Dad asked Sean and me to clear some of our old stuff out of their basement, and my Math 30 binder was among the things we discarded. I drew one of these little people on each page of my notes, a couple of hundred of them. I didn't photograph them all, because frankly, my art is not that deathless. 

Bindertoons #3

Bindertoons #2

Bindertoons #1

The Realm

It's my first ever 3D post! Slip on your 3D glasses to see me, yes, me, in 3D! Or you could just say hi whenever I next see you in person, that'll be in 3D too. 

A Fireplug

Back in 1986, I participated in a Jostens-sponsored workshop as part of my work on the Leduc Composite High School yearbook club. I think it took place a high school in either Vegreville or Camrose - I'm not sure which. During the event, I noticed this painted fireplug and took a photo. Sadly, I wasn't smart enough to stand to the left or right so that my shadow wouldn't interfere with the image. I wonder if this hydrant is still painted this way? 

The Long-Suffering Editor

I was the editor of our newspaper in high school, and I even had a cool newspaper-themed shirt to go with the job, which I'm wearing here, at the gathering that marked the end of our time in the Newspaper Club (and, incidentally, high school). I'm not sure why I'm covering my face, except perhaps to mourn the years I spent on the job, now forever left behind.

I wish I still had that shirt (and could still fit into it). 

Friday Flashback: LCHS Computer Lab

In Grade 10 I chose Computing 10 as an optional class. I had a lot of fun learning how to use the Apple IIes pictured here, though in truth I also spent quite a bit of time playing Star Trek: The Kobayashi Alternative. Just look at those computers: beige, boxy, twin floppy drives, green monochrome monitors. And probably all of 32K of RAM, if that. What a time to be alive! 

The School Guillotine

Here's another shot of Leduc Composite High School taken by an unknown Yearbook Club member. This photo features the school guillotine...actually, I think it's a prop constructed by students for the Drama Club. The schools new expansion included a really beautiful theatre. 

The Library at Leduc Composite High School

When I advanced from Grade 9 to Grade 10, Leduc Composite High School was midway through a major expansion. That expansion included a brand new library, seen here in a photo shot by one of my classmates (I don't know which) in the Yearbook Club.

I spent a lot of time here. It was my refuge from reality and my gateway to other worlds, along with the city's main public library, which was also moved and expanded around the same time.

It distresses me that I have no specific memories of the library; all that remain are general impressions of warmth, comfort, curiosity, exploration. Everything fades.

The Hand

A digital self-portrait shot on 35 mm film. 

EW for PR

Here's an artifact from my last successful election campaign. In Grade 10 (or did the elections happen in Grade 11?) I ran for Public Relations Officer of Leduc Composite High School's Student Council. My chief duty was to read the morning announcements during my Grade 11 year. I thought it was fun.

I ran for President the following year, but lost by about 15 votes, if memory serves. What the people giveth, the people taketh away. 

Deactivated Listening

I've been taking a Foundations of Leadership course through Mount Royal University, and the course ended today with The Art of Listening. Today's class included practice in active listening techniques, which reminded me of an embarrassing incident from my past...

During either Math or Science class in Grade 10 or 11, my friend and next door neighbour Keith Gylander was speaking to me. For some reason, I tuned out completely and turned to look the other way.

"Earl, I'm still talking," Keith said dryly, and my attention snapped back to him. I was utterly embarrassed, and to this day I can't remember what could have possessed me to be so rude. I certainly wasn't listening actively - or at all! 

Plastic Earl Man

This shot may have been taken the day I returned a volleyball serve by bouncing it into the basketball hoop on the other side of the court. I earned no points. 

That Day in Math Class

One day in high school - or perhaps it was junior high - during one of those rare moments when the teacher was out and we were free to talk, my friend Keith engaged me in conversation. He talked for a few minutes and I listened and nodded, and then I turned away, thinking of other things.

"Earl," Keith said. "EARL."

Startled, I returned my gaze to Keith.

"I wasn't finished talking."

I blushed beet red, as was my wont in those adolescent days, and nigh unto now I feel bad that I wasn't giving Keith the undivided attention he deserved. He usually had something intelligent and interesting to say, so the fault was entirely mine. I can't explain this bout of uncharacteristic rudeness, and it haunts me still. 

Dial H for Hitchcock

Assuming my memory is accurate (always dangerous), The Birds was the first Alfred Hitchcock film I ever watched, as part of a communications course in Grade 10 at Leduc Composite High School. I wrote a well-received essay about it, which might still be in a box somewhere.

Since then I've been an ardent admirer of Hitchcock, certainly an uncontroversial stance - the British auteur is widely regarded as one of the very greatest directors. And yet, despite the intervening decades, I've only managed to watch about half of the roughly 50 films (unfinished and lost films mess up the count a bit) in Hitchcock's oeuvre.

Here's the list, in the order released. I've marked the movies I've seen in bold.

The Pleasure Garden (1925)

The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927)

The Ring (1927)

Downhill (1927)

The Farmer’s Wife (1928)

Easy Virtue (1928)

Champagne (1928)

The Manxman (1929)

Blackmail (1929)

Juno and the Paycock (1929)

Murder! (1930)

The Skin Game (1931)

Rich and Strange (1931)

Number Seventeen (1932)

Waltzes from Vienna (1933)

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

The 39 Steps (1935)

Secret Agent (1936)

Sabotage (1936)

Young and Innocent (1937)

The Lady Vanishes (1938)

Jamaica Inn (1939)

Rebecca (1940)

Foreign Correspondent (1940)

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)

Suspicion (1941)

Saboteur (1942)

Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

Lifeboat (1944)

Spellbound (1945)

Notorious (1946)

The Paradine Case (1947)

Rope (1948)

Under Capricorn (1949)

Stage Fright (1950)

Strangers on a Train (1951)

I Confess (1953)

Dial M for Murder (1954)

Rear Window (1954)

To Catch a Thief (1955)

The Trouble with Harry (1955)

The Wrong Man (1956)

Vertigo (1958)

North by Northwest (1959)

Psycho (1960)

The Birds (1963)

Marnie (1964)

Torn Curtain (1966)

Topaz (1969)

Family Plot (1976)

That's 27 out of 50 films, or 54 percent. I have the 1934 version of The Man Who Knew Too Much, I Confess and The Wrong Man on Blu-Ray or DVD; of the films that remain, I'm not even sure how many have been released. I have a feeling Under Capricorn and The Paradine Case, at least, have been released at one time or another. I may have to rely on Turner Classic Movies or (cough) certain other means to view the rest. 

My favourites? Again, my choices are pretty uncontroversial: Psycho, Vertigo, Rear Window, North by Northwest, Strangers on a Train, Shadow of a Doubt, Notorious. The closest Hitchcock came to making a bad film, at least among those I've seen, might be the relatively weak Topaz - but even it has its merits. It just stands in the shadows of the dozen or so masterpieces to Hitchcock's name. 

The Wrong End of the Camera

How cool was it that even back in the 1980s we had teachers who encouraged students to write a short screenplay and then shoot it? Judging from the way I'm handling this video camera, I had a lot to learn. Eventually I got it pointed the right way around, and the resulting film was pretty good for a three-student production with no budget. Sadly, that film is lost.