Posted on May 20, 2021 under Storytelling, Thursday Tidbits with one comment

 

The Qaggiq

 

Just about every small town or village in Canada has an official or unofficial hub. It is the place where everything of note happens. It is place where people come to gather for a variety of reasons. Legion buildings are popular as well as community centres. Libraries, arenas and senior’s activity centres are also common places for people to meet and greet.

When I was growing up, the Catholic Church owned a property called The Parish Centre. It was only a handful of steps away from the cathedral and the priests’ residence. Everything meaningful in the town happened at the Centre. It was used as the gymnasium for physical education classes for the nearby elementary and high schools. It hosted community dinners, bazaars, wedding receptions, political rallies, legendary basketball games and even boxing matches. I can still see the Cochrane brothers landing punishing blows inside the ring. But fights of the unorganized variety were common too at Saturday night dances. While bands like The Strangers and The Escorts played popular cover tunes, invariably there would be a scuffle or two involving a “townie” and some lads from the farms. Want to read more? I wrote a lengthy piece years ago about the Parish Centre and the Bowling Alleys. https://www.week45.com/those-were-the-days/

In more recent times, the nationally acclaimed People’s Place library in my hometown of Antigonsh is unquestionably the new hub of the town. It is much more than a library, providing a staggering array of services including English as a second language to newcomers to Canada, including many Syrian refugees.

It didn’t take me long to discover the meeting place in Kangiqsujuaq. The Qaggiq ( pronounced Haggick and not to be confused with the Scottish delicacy, haggis!), is located on the main street of the village. I had my first encounter with the Qaggiq shortly after arriving in the village. On my way to my apartment from the airport, I was given a quick tour of the community. I saw the Coop, the arena, the swimming pool, and the school also located on the main drag. Of course, after a long day of travel and it being dark, I didn’t pay close attention to these landmarks. My first day in the village got off to an inauspicious start. It was dark and -25 as I made my way to the school. I walked around the building at least four times, wondering why no one was there and the place in darkness. Of course, I was walking around the Qaggiq and not the school!

Qaggiq is an Inuit term describing an igloo (iglu) where people gather to strengthen culture and celebrate life in song and story.

The Qaggiq is primarily a recreation centre. It is a large building housing a gymnasium, walking track, weight room, meeting rooms and a kitchen. I quickly found out that it was much more than this.

Scarcely two weeks into my stay, I attended the funeral of an elder at the Qaggiq. School was closed for the afternoon ceremony as were the local grocery stores. When an elder dies, everyone comes to pay their respect. The deceased lay in a simple wooden coffin at the front of the gym below the stage. There were words, songs and mourning. When the service concluded, everyone filed by the coffin to say their final farewells and lay flowers. The wooden lid was nailed on by family and friends. As it turned out, it would be the only indoor funeral I attended. Covid changed all the rules regarding large gatherings. I did attend several burials on cold winter days at one of the local burial grounds.

In no particular order of importance, the Qaggiq is also used for sports and as a place for young people to hang out after school. It doubles as the local courthouse when a judge and court officials come to town. Of course, being curious (nosy?), I felt compelled at attend one court sitting. Even if it didn’t have the look or feel of a traditional courthouse, justice was administered in much the same fashion.

I attended a few meetings at the Qaggiq none more interesting than the one celebrating the 45^th anniversary of the signing of the James Bay Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA). Two of the signatories of this historic document were in attendance to give us a first hand account of the proceedings.

I contributed one of my coconut cream pies for a banquet held at the Qaggig for the return of a group of students and teachers who went on a five day cross country skiing excursion on the land in the middle of winter.

I received my first Covid vaccination shot at the Qaggiq.

In normal times, the Qaggiq is also the place where Christmas activities happen, literally around the clock including dancing competitions and a wide array of games. Sadly, I was unable to see the Qaggiq full throttle at Christmas time because of Covid.

I attended a volleyball tournament and was amazed at the talent level.

On a personal note, my most memorable time at the Qaggiq was the summer of 2020 when I returned to the north for a second year. After completing my quarantine, I volunteered at a day camp for children at the Qaggiq, providing music for young children. It was a lot of fun and it was my first experience witnessing throat singing. I have embarrassed myself enough in one lifetime and didn’t try to emulate these amazing women.

A few evening ago, I was out for my evening walk heading for the inukshuk. Passing by the Qaggiq, the back doors flung open. A gaggle of young children were standing at the doorway waving and yelling “Len”.

As it turns out, my last memory of the Qaggiq will be the best.

Have a great long weekend.

Please stay safe.

Posted on December 24, 2020 under Storytelling with 4 comments

Christmas stalking just took on a whole new meaning!

I think the polar bear is interested in my presence (presents)

(Thanks to Pete MacDonald for braving the elements and staring down this huge bear to take this amazing picture!)

I am filled with gratitude. This will be a Christmas unlike any other for all of us. We so desperately want to be together and to experience family, friends and old traditions. Sadly, this won’t be possible for most of us because the pandemic has changed so many things in 2020.

I think many of you would agree that Covid-19 has upset the apple cart but for many of us who haven’t been directly affected health wise, it has been little more than an inconvenience to our normal way of life.

However, this has deeply affected people in so many ways. Our seniors in care facilities have suffered tremendously. Despite the heroic efforts of nursing home staffs, not being able to see family and loved ones has been awful. People with mental health issues have also suffered terribly.

Health care workers and those assisting our most vulnerable populations in care facilities are heroes. They have put themselves in harm’s way every single day for months on end. We owe these people a huge debt of gratitude.

Ditto for all of those other essential workers who are mostly ignored by society until it’s crunch time. They have proven their true value when they were needed most.

I am truly grateful to my family and friends for continuing to be a part of my latest adventure. I must admit that I never feel lonely or homesick because a day rarely goes by that I don’t hear from somebody.

I am especially thankful to all of you who continue to read my posts. Today is number 1,1178. Your dedication and support is so appreciated.

I am most grateful for my good health. With good health, anything is possible. So far, so good but I take nothing for granted.

We are not out of the woods yet with the pandemic. We all know this. For me, I have adopted my marathon runner mentality. A marathon is a test of physical and mental endurance. I think my fellow runners would acknowledge that the mental part is the toughest. You can’t look too far ahead. Thinking about the finish line too early in the race is a recipe for disaster.

We’re well into the coronavirus marathon and yes, with a vaccine, the finish line is closer than it was a few weeks ago. But we still have some more miles to put on before we can return to any semblance of normalcy. Rather than wish my life away, I have decided to focus on the short term… the next mile. There’s a lot of living to be done between now and the end of the pandemic. I don’t plan to waste this precious time pleading for it to end.

Stay safe and stay healthy.

Best wishes.

Len

 

 

Posted on September 12, 2020 under Storytelling with one comment

Road warriors

 

“Am I my brother’s keeper?” Genesis 4:9

Death, that most unwelcome of guests will pay all of us a visit someday. Every minute of every day, somewhere on the earth, someone takes their last breath. Those of us left behind grieve and mourn. The pain dulls with time, but it never leaves entirely.

One year ago today, our youngest brother, Thomas Patrick MacDonald took his leave. He had suffered the scourge of cancer for the better part of 10 years and finally succumbed. Even though he knew, and we knew that his time was up, his passing left all of us bereft. I know many of my readers have had family members pass in the last 12 months. Every time you post a picture of your mother, your son, or your grandmother, the pain is visceral. It leaps off the page.

I have thought of Tom nearly every day since he died, during one of the most challenging years of my life.

In this space, I have documented Tom’s memorable life. He was a pretty remarkable guy who had boundless energy to go along with countless spreadsheets! We often referred to him as ‘Tornado Tom’ as he always seemed to have somewhere to go and something to do. More often than not, he was doing something for someone else. He was an experienced marathon runner and coached many other people to do their first marathon. He volunteered at the cancer clinic in Victoria with boundless optimism and empathy while he was dealing with his own suffering.

My brother Gerard also possesses the maniacal marathoner’s DNA. It must be a family trait as I too ran a few in my day but nothing compared to these two. I’ve lost count but I think they each ran more than 20 marathons, several of them together. Misery loves company! Of course, I mean the pain of running 26.2 miles (42km) and not sibling rivalry!

Today they will run together again.

Gerard was supposed to have collected his Boston Marathon finisher’s medal earlier this year, but Covid-19 put an end to that. Gerard is a doctor and, while disappointed that the race would not proceed as scheduled, he realized that there were bigger fish to fry with a global pandemic.

To honor Tom’s memory, Gerard is running a marathon today in Amherst, Nova Scotia. By the time some of you crawl out of bed, he will be well into his run. The P.D.’s are early birds and he’ll hit the pavement at 6:00 a.m. This is not an official marathon. Many of his friends from the Amherst Striders running group will accompany him for parts of the run. Family and friends will be there to cheer him along the way.

While there is apt to be a bit of heaviness in his heart, Tom’s indomitable spirit will lift him up when his energy is flagging as it certainly will. It is often said that there are two halves to a marathon: the first 30 km and the last 12km. I would never classify the first 30km as “easy” but it’s not too bad. Right around this time, weird things start happening to your body. I don’t have the scientific explanation of what happens when your body slowly falls apart! The last 12km can be quite excruciating.

I mentioned that Gerard and Tom would be running together one last time. Yes, Gerard will be carrying some of Tom’s ashes.

And if Gerard dares to falter, there is one other person who will be there to give him a swift kick in the arse. Mother T., our late mom, who watched Gerard run his first Boston Marathon in 2001, will join her boys on the run. I will be there in spirit.

“Long may you run”, Gerard.

He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother.

He is my brother’s keeper.