Mike McDonald- Didn't Fold to Age

     Once again, meeting Mike McDonald was one of those situations were someone "knew a guy" that I may find cool. Well, I'm about 100% certain Mike fits my definition of someone who's pretty cool. Not to mention someone with a super nice condo and a nicer yellow Lamborghini, but life isn't about the material things right...? Anyway! This guy is only 23 years old and to this day has earned over $4734563.00, by himself.. in words, that's four million seven hundred thirty-four thousand five hundred sixty-three dollars. Now, that's not some secret income I shouldn't be telling you, I happened to read it on the internet actually. After all, every poker star has to have his prize money listed somewhere, even the young Michael McDonald.

     The McDonald home, I was told, was a game filled environment, but never a poker filled one. When Mike was about 15 though, he found poker elsewhere. Like myself, he didn't really want to get a job, and he saw that some of his older friends were making more than minimum wage with online poker. Since he was a fast learner (seeing as he started university at age 16, I guess fast learner is really accurate), he felt he would give it a try. He turned to some of the older friends to help teach him, as well as his competitive chess coach. After a while, it seemed that this young chess player may instead go somewhere with cards, so the end came for the competitive chess days. Probably a good move, no offence to my chess instructor brother.

     Mike started playing poker in a time when a lot of other young players were getting into the game, allowing the sport to grow to new levels. Amateur players started getting big prize pools, and more lucrative to others, television time. Although some believed they could hop in with big prizes right away, Mike started out with small stakes online, this was doubly needed since none of his other 15 year old friends considered, well, gambling. Being so young, he didn't really have many personal expenses, slowly detaching himself from the rewards of his success. I on the other hand at age 15 was probably doing nothing, or reading Harry Potter. I had wondered how he was even able to get an online poker account at such a young age anyway, then I found out he simply became his father. His credit card information, his name, and his picture on the account. Genius. There were some rules with this though, including Mike needing to do all of his homework before he could play poker, and he could go and talk to his dad if he lost all of his allowance instead of mope.

Mike McDonald, photo by Victoria Alexander

     When Mike was in grade 12, he had his first big win (keeping in mind grade 12 for Mike was about age 16). This was back in 2006, when I was a kind of dorky, awkward grade 6 six kid. Similar in fact to myself now seven years later, but that's for another day. Mike had heard of this guy from the University of Waterloo who entered a tournament in the Bahamas and ended up winning over a million dollars, the excitement rose when he found out this winner posted on the same poker forum as him. Over the next few days Mike started writing a message to this guy, “longer than any essay I've ever written for school”, as to why this guy should meet 16 year old Mike and quite frankly, teach Mike his skills. As I would be, this guy was a little nervous and didn't know how to reply. The guys girlfriend thought Mike could turn stalkerish, and the guys best friend thought it would be funny to invite the 16 year kid over to the dorm. He listened to the friend, and a powerful poker bond was formed. Anyway, the first big win...

     One day Mike ended up winning $500 (in just that day), which was big for him at the time. “At the time..”, I wish I could have $500 today... but as I was saying, a good day. Then, his two new friends saw a tournament with a $250 dollar buy in, which Mike had never done before (it was high for him at the time). Nervous to lose his successes of the day, he didn't want to enter, but eventually his friends talked him into it and they said that if any of them won, it would be split evenly. Eventually Mike cracked and entered, shortly after, he lost. Then the friend who won big in the Bahamas also got out fairly early, things weren't looking good. It just so happened though that friend number three ended up placing in third place, with a total payout of $16000, making Mike's 500 dollar day a $5500 day, at age 16. His career came rapid fire from there.

Mike McDonald (left) and I, photo by Victoria Alexander

     That summer Mike won entry to a ten player tournament were 10^th to 2^nd place would win $10000, and first place would win a million dollars. Of course you would think everyone would just agree to split the pot right away and leave with just over $100000 a piece, but rules said such a deal couldn't be made until the final three. Understandable, Mike didn't get much sleep that week from the nerves, this game could change his life forever. Hours into the game, with his father encouraging him behind his shoulder, Mike was in second place with three people left. The group decided to split, and Mike walked away with $230000, I think that summer I spent most days playing RISK the board game. That was the second, early defining moment. Remember though, at this point Mike was still pretty desensitized from the money, since he didn't really have any expenses. So 16 year old Mike went into university with a net worth of about $400000 (at that age, mine was probably about $25), and hoped to keep it a secret. He still planned on getting a co-op type job he hoped would pay about $16 an hour, and blend in with the crowd. The secret came out though, the “young baby-faced kid” was a professional poker player, earning him the (then inaccurate) nickname “Mike the Millionaire”.

     Funnily enough, the deciding game to millionaire status wasn't even a game he played. Mike taught one of his university roommates poker, but slowly realized that this guy may be better than the level he was playing at. Mike decided to invest in him to play a tournament, it just so happened his friend entered the wrong one. A mistake that would actually be a blessing. This guy won big, and won entrance into a European Poker League game which he ended up winning, in fact becoming the youngest person to win a EPL tournament. The thing is, Mike had a hold on a fair bit of the prize money, being the original investor. Enough to make Mike a millionaire (say that five times fast...) before he was even old enough to legally play the game. I qualify that as a major success.

     The day Mike finally played his first live game was literally the first day he could, his 18^th birthday. On the first day Mike was legally an adult, he was in Europe playing poker in the World Series of Poker. A month or two later was his first European Poker League tournament, and shortly after that he stole the title his friend had won, and become the youngest European Poker League winner ever, a title he still holds. This win also added $1.4 million dollars to his pocket.. at age 18.. I think I have about $1.40 right now.

     Although his father has always been supportive, this win won over his mother. After this tournament his mother started her own pokerstars account and learned a lot more than she ever had before. It seemed that although Mike was big before, it was two factors that people used to determine if he was “a professional”. One being television time, the other being playing against a celebrity. The curiosity tugged at me so I had to ask Mike which celebs he's faced. He causally dropped the names of multi-Olympic champion Michael Phelps, award-winning rapper Nelly and actor Don Cheadle (from Iron Man two & three and Hotel Rwanda). After his first year of university, he dropped to focus on playing high stakes, live games.

     Nowadays, Mike puts in about 15-20 hours a week of playing poker when he's in town, and about 60 hours a week when he's away, averaging just under a full-time job in time commitment. His prize money now is an incredible $4.7 million dollars, and he's far from done playing. Honestly though, I was glad to hear that Mike didn't want to do this his whole life, glad he's keeping his options open. In the future some ideas have floated around such as stock trader, company investment, and possibly even a company of his own. Good ideas there Mike, I'm sure your mom is glad to hear them!

     After a fun time meeting Mike, I got to sit in the shiny yellow Lamborghini, which was awesome. We went for lunch with my photographer Victoria, and the conversation turned to such diverse subjects as Hermione Granger (and actress Emma Watson), the Planet Mars, and life force from fresh fruit and veggies (all three of us questioned the legitimacy). Final analysis, Mike McDonald is a really cool guy, and if he ever wins a World Series of Poker, I expected to see his WSOP Bracelet, it would make feel like a champion by default.

Mike very nicely letting me sit in his Lamborghini, Photo by Victoria Alexander

Jim and Jennifer Moss- Bringing Smiles Back

     When I was just starting out my interview idea, a friend from my university residence came up to me and started to explain the story of her uncle, Jim Moss, as a possible idea. I thought he sounded really cool, but in all honesty, that whole conversation slipped my mind for a couple of months. Then about a two weeks ago I decided to send him an email, and we planned an interview. Jim Moss, and his wife Jennifer, are probably the nicest couple in the world, and I wish I spoke to them sooner. Needless to say, their story was still amazing, and my timing in fact worked out funnier than anyone could of imagined. This story (originally) is up Wednesday, July 3^rd- also known as “baby day”. Why? Because on Wednesday, July 3^rd, Jim and Jen Moss introduce Moss baby number three to the world, what will be probably the happiest child in the world. Happiest, all beginning from a rather scary moment in her (yup, a girl!) parents' lives, starting in September 2009.

     While I was starting my first year of high school in Ingersoll, Jim was training in the off months for his tenth season in the National Lacrosse League. During the time when regular games weren't on, Jim worked at a store. But it was the regular season that meant more. During the months of December through April, he was known as “The Axe”, #55 on the Colorado Mammoth. Named 2003 NLL Defensive Player of the Year, and being named to the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame as a part of the gold-winning Team Canada, “The Axe” was making his name known in a second sport after leaving the London Knights (of the Ontario Hockey League) as their captain in the 97-98 squad.

Getting to know Jim Moss

Photo by Victoria Alexander

     Jim was married to a wife he loved (and still loves) dearly, had one little child and another on the way. Then something unexpected happened, an injury no one could have expected, not even doctors, seemingly. Injuries were to be expected in his pro-sports career, especially as a lacrosse player. Some of the things he was used to included torn cartilage in both knees, separated and dislocated shoulders, cracked neck and back vertebrae, a broken nose thirteen times (well, fourteen if you include once by his son), but never paralysis. One day Jim was watching television with his wife when he collapsed, fully paralyzed. The doctors thought he contracted something called Guillain-Barré syndrome, a neuromuscular disease, but that was later ruled out. After that, and still to this day, it's listed as an undefined neuromuscular disease, permanently ending the professional sports career of “The Axe”, Jim Moss.

     Not knowing the future, he decided he had to do something to keep some positivity, for him, his wife, and child. He decided to keep a gratitude journal in which he could record one little thing each day that he was grateful for. Jim, to the suprise of many, made it out of the hospital faster than would be imagined by anyone, in time for the birth of this second child. While back home in Ontario, Jim was in a hurry and scribbled a smiley face on a piece of paper, wrote what he was grateful for at the time (the sound of his children giggling in the bathtub) and posted it on Facebook. That was the start of what is now internationally known as The Smile Epidemic.

     That was all back in 2009, but five years later Jim and I both had completely new stories. Leading us to meet last week on his back porch and have some of the best iced tea I've ever had in my life. While at his house, he was telling me how excited he was for the birth of his new baby which would be a week away.. TODAY as of the day I'm posting this interview. While looking at the Smile Epidemic app I saw a photo, posted by a new account named “Baby Lyla”, with a smiley face simply saying “I'm here!”. She's one of the cutest babies I've ever seen, but her mom and dad have come a long way in a few years, so I need to fill in the rest of the story, maybe Lyla can read this on her tenth birthday (when I'm 28.. I'll be ancient).

     When I left off, Jim posted a photo to Facebook with a smiley face, and now it's an app, website, blog, twitter account, and an international movement in over 200 countries around the world. Now though, it's not just Jim posting. The idea really took off, and the main idea is really anybody can, and should, just post one thing you're happy or grateful for that day, and post it online. You come to realize, after a while it's easier and easier to find something you're grateful, contrary to what you may think at first. After some others started to post their own, Jim and Jen decided to make something out of it. There were down to two name idea.. The Smile Epidemic and Smi-ral. No offense, but I think you picked the better name by far.

Jim and Jen Moss... one week until baby day!

Photo by Victoria Alexander

     What they really loved as it got going was that people all around the world, no matter what country, were grateful for the same things. For their pets, for their family, for the weather. Some though, stuck out to the Moss couple, smiles they never thought they could help bring back to people. They told me the story of a family of four, who had just lost an aunt to cancer. They found out about the app, and the whole family started doing this simply activity once a day, and they told Jim how becuase of him, they're getting their smile back. Jim, Jen, and myself couldn't believe how such a small idea can change so many lives for the better.

     The couple reads the smiles every night, and now since the app is on Blackberry, Apple and IOS software, more and more people are sending them in. People have been grateful for “no more chemo”, and even a little nine-year-old girl from Austrailia who wrote “having a roof over my head and a bed to sleep in.” See? You start to see how much you're grateful for. Some of the most insightful are the most simple, like a girl they met at an orphanage last week who simply said “waking up.”

     I wanted to end with that, where it is now. There are many goals now, such as bringing it into the school and workplace, to create a more happier.. well, world. One of the things Jen and Jim do with their children every night now, around the dinner table, is ask them one thing that they were grateful for that day, in the hopes when they're older they'll continue. At this time, they still don't know what's wrong with Jim Moss, and maybe they won't ever. He goes through periods were it'll be anywhere from 3 to 21 days when he'll lose the ability to move his legs, or experiences the same shakiness as one may who is diagnosed with Parkinson's. When this happens, what Jim does is gets his computer, and goes on The Smile Epidemic website. He gets the chance to see all the things that he can be, and is, grateful for. He told me that with out his illness, he never would of been able to make any of this happen.

     So maybe, “The Axe” told me, just maybe.. if he has to be sick everyday for the rest of his life to bring happiness to so many people, it might just be worth it.

     I'm dedicating this story to the lovely baby Lyla Moss! Born on this sunny July 3^rd, 2013. Her first ever Smile Epidemic smile was posted shortly after she was born, and it reads “I'm here! 8lbs and 7 ounces, super healthy and my Dad says I'm beautiful just like Momma. It's great to be alive!”

Yes it is Lyla, yes it is.  

Me: "getting to interview.." Jim: "Me! The Smile CEO"

Jim Moss and I at the Moss home.
Photo by Victoria Alexander

Alex Debogorski- Riding the Ice Roads

     My father has been a trucker for a few years now, and he loves it. As he says, “I get paid for sitting on my butt and not doing to much else”. The thing is, I know there's more to it than that. Trucking can be really difficult some days, especially when operating on busy Canadian highways such as the 400 series. Cars can get in your massive blind spots, and you have to remember when you last saw a vehicle to recall if it's still there or not. You're responsible for thousands upon thousands of pounds of machinery and cargo (sometimes explosive, sometimes living) and some days you could be working on a deadline that seems impossible to make. Your days could be long, and although you want to keep driving, you're legally forced to sleep. It's not like the road is going to disappear or anything.. it'll still be there tomorrow, next week, and months down the road. But.. wait, what if some days, it wasn't? If one person would understand that experience, it would be Alex Debogorski, from History Channel's hit show, Ice Road Truckers.

Alex Debogorski with his truck!

Photo Retrieved from http://johnburridgephoto.com/alex-debogorski-ice-road-trucker-toronto-editorial-photographer/

     So, I sent an email and we arranged a call. He wasn't in his home city of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories at the time as I expected him to be, but in a city called Williams Lake, British Columbia (about 550 kilometres north of Vancouver). I caught him while he was setting up for the 2013 Williams Lake Stampede (starting this year on June 28^th), in which he had a booth. Once Alex answered the phone, something happened in the interview that I had never experienced before.. Alex started explaining some views on Canada he had, before I even had the chance to ask a question. The thing was.. it was so interesting! He discussed his views on Canadians living in a “fishbowl paradigm”, his views on Canadian arrogance, the idea that our nation is like a large park were we're nothing but administrators and many tidbits of family history that relates to how he views the nation he now lives in.

     But, after about twenty minutes, I decided to ask some questions about his experiences with the show that helped him become a name known worldwide. For him, I guess it all started around 1972, when Alex Debogorski first started his career as a commercial truck driver.

     Alex first attended the University of Alberta for a year after high school, followed by him entering straight into the work world. I completely understand what he meant by saying getting a job out of school was impossible, his year being a pattern of “last one hired, first one fired.” Jobs came and went, sometimes on an oil rig, or occasionally in a tire shop. Then in 1972, he started driving at a coal mine for a company called McIntyre Porcupine in the Northern Alberta community of Grande Cache. His profession of a truck driver moved with him to Yellowknife four years later, and yet another four years brought him in first contact with Canada's ice roads.

     So, I didn't really know what roads were. I sort of just thought that they were roads slicked with ice. Was I ever wrong! It's actual bodies of frozen water, as in lakes and rivers, that these massive trucks are driving on to resupply mines, quarries or aboriginal settlements. Not that it wasn't there before, but after hearing that I for sure had much higher respect for drivers like Alex. Driving a couple tonnes on sheets of ice is as daring a job as any, and as Alex explains, takes just as much patience. Back when he started out, there weren't too many rules out on the ice roads, and Alex was trekking in some areas that were hardly ever trekked before to ensure supplies would get to those in need. Although to this day some road “scare the pants off of him”, rules make things a bit more predictable. Predictable down to the kilometre, to be exact, which leads the drivers to need extreme amounts of patience.

Alex signs copies of his autobiography at home

Photo Retrieved from http://alex-debogorski.blogspot.ca/2010_10_17_archive.html

     Most roads may be down to a 25 kilometre an hour limit, no more or no less. The concentration needed could be the difference between driving on a road.. or having the lake below break through. Alex explained to me on the phone how he could get radio calls in saying he needed to increase or decrease his speed by a half kilometre rate, I don't think I could make that fine of a difference if I tried. He knows that truckers can die on a normal, straight, paved road. He's heard many stories of log truck drivers getting in fatal accidents out in British Columbia. He doesn't want to be one of those statistics.

     But I mean, how boring is focusing on a half kilometre difference for hours a day? Following one of the greatest laughs ever, Alex informed me of the magical things you hear on Channel One of his radio, which is supposed to be kept clear when driving up North in case of emergencies. The men and women create makeshift talk shows with each other, discuss politics or marital issues, spread rumours, question alien abduction or write poems, among many other things he's heard. Alex has even learned how to properly grow marijuana from a couple other drivers sharing techniques.

     While the truckers were laughing away or engaging in political discussion in Northern Canada and Alaska, History Channel in the States was airing a documentary on the Denison ice road. They realized whenever this aired, their ratings went way up. With this in mind, they contacted the production company who covered the show Deadliest Catch to head over towards Yellowknife to see if any drivers had interested in being on television. Some did, well most didn't. The general idea expressed was “if you want a real character, you should get Alex Debogorski.” That's what the company did, tried to find Alex.. who just so happened to be trapped in a snowstorm on Great Slave Lake. When he came back, he sort of thought the production crew was a joke, so he wasn't to serious. It seemed they liked him though, and surprisingly, “Debogorski” started becoming a household name.

      I was informed by Alex that no road is too dangerous for him, especially if some of the women drivers were doing them.. then he kind of felt he had to at least try! The beauty on the stretches of highway never fail to impress Alex, or the thousands of viewers who see him on Ice Road Truckers. Sunsets hitting mountains, eagles flying en masse above his head.. these are inspirations that will keep Alex, as he told me, driving the ice roads as long as he can.

Alex Debogorski wonders what his future holds...

Photo Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/ice-road-trucker-eyes-federal-election-run-1.1016182

Jeremy Hansen- Canadian Astronaut-in-training

     Growing up, little Jeremy Hansen looked up at the stars in his tree house decorated as a spaceship, going on daring outer space missions. When he made it to high school, Jeremy was granted the same view of the stars as I was, seeing as we both hail from the same small town of Ingersoll, Ontario. The view of space from the Southwestern Ontario countryside wasn't good enough for Jeremy though, and as a child he was fascinated by astronauts, dreaming that one day he might become one.

            The road to space is not always a clear one, and Jeremy didn't know quite how he would go about becoming an astronaut. When he was young, an aircraft captured his interest: the CF-18 Hornet fighter jet. He knew flying these fighters was a career path that could be easily mapped out, so after his final year at Ingersoll District Collegiate Institute (the high school we both attended), he enrolled in the Royal Canadian Air Force, where he would learn to fly their CF-18 Hornets. On the academic side of life, Hansen went to the Royal Military College in Saint-Jean, Quebec and then continued onto the Royal Military College of Canada, in Kingston, Ontario.

            While in Kingston, he heard Lieutenant-General Romeo Dallaire (now a Canadian senator) speak of the tragic Rwandan Genocide only shortly after the atrocity took place. Hearing this forthright and honest talk on an event of that magnitude was a very powerful moment in his time there, yet two other speakers would effect his life more--Canadian astronauts Julie Payette and Chris Hadfield. He had a few opportunities to meet with Chris Hadfield, and during this time he was able to grill Commander Hadfield on all manner of space-related queries. Through asking Chris questions, he learned that he in fact could get into a space career through his current one. Hadfield himself was in fact an CF-18 Hornet Fighter pilot, and Jeremy had the qualifications that the Canadian Space Agency tended to look for.

            Yet, as Jeremy became more educated, he realized how slim the odds were that he would become a Canadian astronaut and decided to never get his hopes up. When applications came around for Canada's newest batch of astronaut recruits, Hansen and his wife had discussions about what the future of the application could be. Although the chances were low, and he would probably never be chosen. He was confident that, and thought to himself, that he would be able to do the job (and do it well) if given the chance. But he also realized that there were several others who could do it just as well, possibly better. Upon learning about Jeremy's impressive education (Bachelor of Science in Space Science--First Class Honours and Master of Science in Physics) I would personally have been surprised if he didn't get in. Despite this, Jeremy was shocked when he heard the news that he had been accepted in the Canadian astronaut training program alongside David Saint-Jacques in May 2009, making our small town of Ingersoll proud.

            Feelings of disbelief, privilege and honour went through him after hearing the results. Imagine: achieving your wildest childhood dream in real life. I had asked, simply, why he had wanted to be an astronaut. He told me that as the years went by, there had been many different reasons. At first it was the excitement of the exploration and the challenge of dangerous space missions. But after growing up a bit, that's only one small factor. Now Jeremy is considering the importance and possible benefits to humanity that his missions could offer, and the privilege of looking down upon Earth as he's leaving.

            How do you even train to be an astronaut? He agreed that it was a concept that was hard to grasp, seeing as there was no definitive skills required to be an astronaut. He's learning a variety of things, some that seem obvious and some that he didn't expect he would need to learn. He's learning fine and broad points of robotics, partaking in spacewalk training (which includes wearing an authentic spacewalk outfit in a pool of water), and now...geology? That one confused me a bit, and indeed it confused him at first as well. This summer Jeremy will be heading to the Canadian Arctic to research a meteor impact crater. This will help them with regard to potential future Canadian Space missions (which may happen in the span of his career), if and when Canadian astronauts leave low-Earth orbit again. What this could mean is that Canadians would possibly have the chance to research and explore the moon or even “another planetary body in our solar system." Trust me, if the first person ever to go to Mars is from Ingersoll, I'll be bragging. Unfortunately, nothing has been confirmed yet, so I suppose Jeremy and the rest of us will just have to wait and see.

            Waiting is something that Jeremy expected, and understands. At this point, he has no idea when or what his first mission to Space may be. The thing is, as Jeremy said, there are other options now for Canadians to go into space. With the birth of the space tourism market, some wealthy Canadians could make it up there around the same time that he does (Quebec's Cirque du Soleil creator Guy Laliberté has already been a Space tourist, for example). More than likely, his first mission in Space will be similar to Hadfield's. It would be half a year in Space, doing scientific experiments and generally maintaining the International Space Station (ISS). Upon asking Jeremy what he felt the Hadfield mission provided for the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), he mentioned that one thing for sure was increasing public awareness. Awareness of Canada's involvement in space, the fact we even have a space agency, and the idea that there is an International Space Station that is regularly inhabited by astronauts around the world. Another lesson that he believes Hadfield taught was the idea of how we may be a world split into several cities, provinces, countries, and continents, but from up in Space it's more noticeable than ever that we're a global society. A powerful lesson very relevant to our modern world.

            Our shared hometown of Ingersoll, Ontario also taught Jeremy a valuable life lesson--respect for community. Ingersoll may not provide us with an abundance to do in our free time, but we do have people. People we can rely on and with whom we can learn about the reliance of neighbours and friends. He told me sometimes people can forget how important it can be to be able to depend on the integrity and kindness others, but Ingersoll has made sure he'll never forget.

            At the end of our interview, I asked if he had any advice for people who may want to be astronauts, and I found out that he asked the same question to Chris Hadfield when he was on his way to his future career. What Hadfield told Jeremy was, in Jeremy's opinion, the best advice he could have given. He was told to follow his passion. You could learn how other astronauts made it to where they are now, but that isn't likely to be your path. By doing this, following your passion, no matter where you end up career-wise, it will have been an incredibly worthwhile journey in itself.

                One final note: although I asked, he wouldn't tell me his favourite IDCI teacher, so in case one decided to read this, tough luck.

Joseph Arvay- A Lawyer Fighting for Canadian Rights

     It's not a very big secret when I say I paid very little attention to my grade 12 law class. It's not that my teacher was boring, I just didn't find the material all that interesting. That is, all but one case study. In that lesson, we were told about a place in Downtown Eastside Vancouver called “Insite”. Insite is the only location in all of North America where you can legally inject yourself with illegal substances (most commonly used there being heroin, cocaine and morphine), be provided medical care or first aid from wounds or overdose, mental health assistance, and resources to break your habit. Personally, I felt this was a great centre, valuable to the future of many suffering from addictions in that part of our country. Unfortunately, several people (our Prime Minister included) did not think this was a good idea, and Insite found itself threatened to be closed in a Supreme Court Case. In the final decision, greatly aided in the work of Joseph Aravy, Insite has remained open.

     What were the chances that my university roommate Jaime would be the nephew of Joseph Arvay, the lawyer who defended Insite in the Supreme Court? Probably very low, but needless to say, that's how it happened to work out. Upon hearing this, I knew I wanted to speak with Mr Arvay. One night Jaime and I sent an email to his law firm in Vancouver (Arvay Finlay Barristers) and to my surprise, he said yes. While doing my pre-interview research and actual interview, I found out just how much Joseph Arvay had done for our nation, and I was glad I had the chance to share it.

     Joseph was born in Welland, Ontario in 1949. While there, he would work in his fathers' store, deliver papers and do assorted yard work as some of his first jobs. In high school, he realized that he might want to be a lawyer, and upon actually getting into law school he realized that he was certain in his career choice. After teaching in law school and working in the Attorney General's office in British Colombia, Arvay Finlay Barristers was opened in January, 1990.

     Upon reading some things about Joseph Arvay, I realized that there were quite a few important cases that he represented (even some more that I now remember hearing about in school). One of which, which I was surprised to hear that he represented, was the well-known case “Egan v. Canada”, which when concluded led to the Supreme Court decision that sexual orientation constitutes a prohibited basis of discrimination under Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In other words, that means it's illegal to discriminate someone in Canada based on their sexual orientation (regardless if it's employment discrimination, the decision of letting someone buy and rent a property or not, and receiving certain governmental services).

     So, due to his work, two parts of the Canadian Constitution were altered in their interpretation. Then I read that there are even more amazing things aided in Canada, thanks to his work. Joseph Arvay has aided in the fight of sperm donor babies having the same rights to information as adopted children, and has fought to allow books promoting tolerance of same-sex relationships to stay in classes of K-1 children. Currently, Joseph Arvay is working on a case that's up there as one of his most difficult, whether there is a “Constitutional Right to Die” (so cases which could include physician-assisted suicide). These cases are the ones that draw attention and have people all across our country interested in the result, so I asked if there were any (in his eyes) that were the most important he's been involved in. To him, they are “all important, but not of equal importance. Certainly the cases that have advanced the rights of gay, lesbians and transgendered stand out.”.

     So, with all of these cases that have come up, does that mean our Constitution is flawed? I decided to ask. In his opinion,

     “There is nothing flawed about the Constitution as far as it goes. That does not mean that it is always interpreted by the courts correctly. But that is just because judges, like all humans, are flawed and don’t always get it right. But even that is a bit of glib statement. Who is to decide what is a correct or incorrect interpretation? Books have been written on this. The Constitution may be flawed in that it doesn’t go far enough. For instance it does not expressly provide for a right to minimum welfare or housing or food or education or health care or the environment although each of these “rights” might be implicit. Time will tell.”

     Back when he was in high school, “just slightly later than the time of the dinosaurs”, nothing law related was taught in the classrooms. The fact that some of his own cases are now being taught “warms his heart”. The thing about Constitutional cases, Joseph told me, was that they have far-reaching rewards. They reach people and times past his own client, and that in itself is rewarding.

     It was interesting getting the chance to speak to someone I had learned about in a high school law class, and someone who has aided our country in a different way than I'm used to hearing about- fighting in our courts, occasionally our Supreme Court. 

Lorna Ruppel- 100 Years of Memories

     Speaking to the 100 year old Lorna Ruppel was an experience much different than any other interviews I've done. I must admit, I didn't aim to speak specifically to her at first, just someone who was over 100. I had the idea that it would be an incredible experience, and it was. Someone who has lived in the past 100 years or more (as in, 1912-2013), such as Lorna, has experienced some of histories greatest inventions or moments, and some of our darkest too. Think of the things that have happened; born just before the First World War, entered teenage years at the beginning of the Great Depression, was in her mid-twenties when World War Two began, and saw inventions such as cars, computers, phones and televisions develop to the level that no one could of ever predicted when she was born. I mean, the internet wasn't even made publicly available until she was 80!

     The set up was a bit different that I had ever experienced, also. That is, it wasn't just me that had the chance to ask some questions. There was Lorna's daughter-in-law, her great-grandaughter, even my photographer had the chance to ask some questions. When the first part of the interview was done, even more people joined us. Another daughter-in-law, a granddaughter, a grandson-in-law, a pet cat. All ready to tell me stories, adventures, and experiences they've had with the lovely lady I had the chance to meet that they themselves had the chance to call “mom”, “grandma”, or “great-grandma.” Or, in the cats case, just bug me to be pet. It was a time of assorted stories as opposed to a straight life story, but I loved that I could hear it nonetheless. For your enjoyment, here are some stories of the wonderful, nearly 101 year old, Lorna Ruppel.

     Lorna was born on November 8^th, 1912 in Ottawa, although birthdays aren't really thought about much these days. Growing up, she was in lucky in regards to the fact that her father never had to go fight in Europe, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have memories of the Great War that was happening between the time she was two and six. By the family house was a park, and in this park, soldiers routinely marched and practised drills to go, and possibly die, for Canada.

Her father was an accountant, but her mother was the real business lady. This luck of being employed lasted into her late-teens, when the Great Depression spread across the World. But as she said, mother saved them from the Depression trials. By then, the family lived in the Kitchener area, and owned a dry-cleaning business, the brain child of her mother. She recalled how things were really difficult, people were troubled, but her parents and family made it, year by year.

Just before the Depression though, Lorna recalls how her mother made her get a job. As she said, “you were supposed to be 16 to get a job, but when I was 15, my mother told me I had to get one myself.” So, at age 15, she became a Bell telephone operator and that was that, a job she'd continue as long as she could remember. As she described, “she kept her nose to the grindstone and stayed out of mischief”, even when the news came that Canada was entering what would be then known as the Second World War. She can't recall personally helping with the war effort, she can't recall hearing about some of the big events in the news such as Dieppe Raid or D-Day, but the reaction when the war ended? That, she remembered. People stormed the streets, cheers abound, banging their pots and pans together, just happy that after nearly six years, the war was finally over.

Lorna telling her story

Photo by Victoria Alexander

     One story from her life that Lorna mentioned to me, with a little bit of a reminder from her daughter-in-law, happened during the years of World War Two. From what she mentioned, and from what I was told from her family, she was head over heels for her husband, Homer (although, she wasn't a fan of the name Homer at all). They first met when she lived in Kitchener. A few properties down the street from them was a tennis court, where Homer and his sister would play tennis. Lorna and her sister would go down there sometimes to play as well. Well, that's the story she told at least. Her granddaughter told me she always found it odd how Lorna only brought one racquet between the two of them, a coincidental conversation starter with the boy whom she would later marry. When World War Two came along, her husband was sent to be trained to go to Europe and fight (which is luckily never had to do). While training in Chilliwack, British Colombia, Lorna with her young two-year-old child, missed him more than she could imagine. So what did she do? She sold her house, boarded the train with her two-year-old son in tow, and surprised her husband at the military base.

     Unfortunately, she couldn't stay on the base with him, so she took up a room in a hotel, where Homer would visit when he could. As the money started to decline, she realized she had to leave the hotel. She gathered a few of her possessions, and with her son, amidst the Fall rains, she stayed at a local park for a few nights. Just the two of them, spending some solitary nights together alone and vulnerable. It wasn't very safe, and it wasn't the best for her child, but it was all they could do. She realized she had to find something else. The park wasn't safe, the hotel was to expensive, so she started knocking on doors, asking for a place to stay. Right when she was about to give up from all the no's she received.. someone said yes, and they were saved. After a sad Christmas missing home, she went back to Kitchener (shaking her head that she didn't consider just renting the house out), and moved into an apartment. Later she would be reunited with her husband Homer, and in a few years she would have her second son, making the family complete.

     It's stories like these that I love hearing. When I asked “what's life like now”, she replied with a sigh and a smile saying “well, life is good.” She spends her days making dolls, reading her mystery books and watching curling. She enjoys beating her children-in-law, her grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren at cards (she always wins) and occasionally listening to big bands on the radio (Lawrence Welk was always a favourite). To me, she seems like an amazingly happy lady, and probably one of the sweetest people I had ever met.

     To me, she taught me the valuable lesson of “not judging a book by the cover”. She may be a 100 year old lady now. But she was also the little girl watching the soldiers train, she was the teenager who “forgot her second racquet”, she was the loving mother and wife who traveled thousands of kilometers across the country to be with the person she loved (even if it meant a few nights in a park), she's the lady who has never touched a computer, the lady who happens to be a direct descendant of Mr John McIntosh (the founder of the McIntosh Apple), and now the loving great-grandmother of a friend of mine.

I asked what being Canadian meant to her, a question I always ask at the end of an interview. She told me it was wonderful, “great to be a Canadian” in her eyes. She felt somehow more comfortable with the thought of living in Canada, and in 100 years, has never considered leaving. Sure, troubles arose in her life. They always will, no matter who you are. But she told me that “all these problems came up, but I was always able to cope. I always was able.” Lorna Ruppel is an amazing lady, and although I'm a six months early.. I would love to wish Lorna a happy 101^st birthday! 

100-Year-Old Lorna Ruppel, her great-granddaughter, and myself.

Photo by Victoria Alexander

The Eric Nagler Story- Part Two

     When I left off with Eric, he was 24 years old and had just taken part in the March Against Fear as a supporter of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., hearing the famed “I Have a Dream” speech.

     As the internal battle in America to end the bitterness of segregation was well on its way to success, across the world America was involved in another conflict: the Vietnam War. Like so many others in America, our subject had the heavily debated conflict touch his life in two ways. First, Eric Nagler was drafted to fight for the American armed forces. Second, Eric Nagler refused to go. His life at that point was defined by tough decisions between “what was right,” and “what was wrong.” He decided that fighting in a war, regardless of recruitment laws, wasn't the right path, and refused to go. However, the American government doesn't tend to accept decisions like this with open arms. Being labeled a draft dodger was not only criminal, but often led to ostracism by the public. He had to leave America, so Eric headed north to Canada.

     Entering through Montreal to stay at a friends' house, Eric felt a change almost immediately after crossing the border. A weight of hatred seen and felt everywhere seemed to be removed, political tension seemed to drop away and even the idea that people were separated from each other was gone. As he said, “America was run by a bunch of big time crooks, while Canada is run by a bunch of small time crooks.” It just felt right for him to be here. To this day, only one person has criticized him for dodging the draft, and he was from Sweden!

     Eric wasn't left off easy though. The reality was that draft dodging is a crime, and he knew that he would need to stand for it. He went back to America in 1972 to stand trial for draft evasion, on which he was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison. Being acquitted on appeal, he returned to Canada, the idea of being American behind him.

     After being unable to find work in Montreal, he moved to Toronto where he would eventually come to own and operate a music store on Avenue Road called the Toronto Folklore Centre with his then-spouse Martha Beers. Later on, he would live in a small Northern Ontario town called Killaloe, where he decided one day to see a friend of his perform some music for the local children in the library. Eric's friend, the performer of the “Homemade Music” show, wanted to get out of performing for children and felt Eric should take all the homemade instruments and do the show himself. He even spoke to his producers and arranged an audition, and with that, Eric came into possessing all the strange instruments thousands of children associate with him today. That is, all except the sewerphone. That was a creation of Reverend Ken Ramsden (of Reverend Ken Ramsden and the Lost Followers). The instrument's invention consisted of merely changing a "sinkpiece" to a "sewerpiece" (from "sinkerphone" to "sewerphone"). Eric also gave it a name targeted at adult audeinces -- the fallopian tuba. I have no idea how hearing this has affected my childhood yet.

     At the beginning of his career as a children's performer, around 1978, things seemed to be going very successfully. The children loved it, Eric loved it, everything was going great. Around this time, two other children's acts were getting attention as well. The trio of Sharon Hampson, Lois Lilienstein and Bramwell Morrison in Ontario, and the solo act of Raffi Cavoukian in British Colombia. From what Eric told me, it seemed that Sharon, Lois and Bram felt they could do a better job than that Raffi in BC, the group felt it was time to move onto bigger things, so they approached a man named Bill Usher to produce an album for them. Bill happened to be a friend of Eric's, who knew that Eric played a wide range of instruments, making him perfect for session work. That was the start of what would become a beautiful relationship that children across North America would come to love. The finished album, One Elephant, Deux Éléphants was a hit, getting a JUNO nomination and reaching Triple Platinum on the Canadian market. When Sharon, Lois and Bram were approached about making doing their own TV show they were ecstatic, but needed a venue to perform in front of children to show producers their material. Once again, Eric Nagler worked as the perfect connection. He was performing a show at a small theatre around the University of Toronto campus, and gladly allowed the trio to perform some songs in the middle of his set. The producers and creators loved the show, the trio, and Eric also. It was decided then, if Sharon, Lois and Bram were to have a show, Eric was to be a part of it. He would appear in every episode for the next five years.

Eric as a child.

     This music-oriented show would air in Canada, the US, Ireland, and many other nations, with videotapes being released and eventually distributed to millions of children round the world. Although this was Eric's first time on Canadian television, he had been on TV before, and therefore wasn't nervous or hesitant to jump at the opportunity when it arose with Sharon, Lois, and Bram. Eric recalled, laughing, that his first time on TV was performing some music on the show that pioneered music television and popularized the genre, “Ted Steele's Bandstand”. He was in the background playing while Brian Hyland was singing, the man who rose to fame at age 17 in 1960 with his number one single “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini." From what I could watch of Sharon, Lois and Bram reruns on VHS (some days it seems I'm ancient), they all seemed like naturals in the world of television, yet once again Eric shared some behind-the-scenes stories one could never really hear second-hand. Sometimes, the four of them (especially Lois) had to be reminded that they were playing to the camera, and to stop acting so grand and elaborated. Eric recalled how the producers (more than once) told Lois to “stop playing to all of Australia, play to the camera!”

     In time came 1988, and the end of the original airing of the Sharon, Lois and Bram Elephant Show after 65 episodes spread over five years. This was in large part due to the fact that the trio felt it was time to retire from the televised world and go back to musical performance only. The trio would continue performing until 2000 when the unfortunate passing of Lois's husband made her realize it was time for her to retire from life on the road. To this day, Sharon and Bram still perform, with the three still performing together on rare occasions. Eric however, wasn't done with television.

     The year 1991 brought along a new children's sitcom produced by Cambium Productions titled Eric's World, staring Eric Nagler, a group of children (including Daniel DeSanto who went on to become known to many as Jason from Mean Girls), and Eric's manager, C.J., a puppet voiced by John Pattison. When this show was in its original casting process, the casting director was looking for a young girl to have the role of Eric's daughter, a role Eric's actual daughter, Lauren, wasn't happy about. Then, Niki Holt auditioned for the role of Kaley, the daughter. Everyone was simply amazed at how natural she fit the role and how she was the seemingly perfect for it. When they decided on her, Eric took the audition video home to show his own daughter. Although initially stubborn, she was flabbergasted by the time the tape was over, expressing how “she plays your daughter better than I can." The memories Eric made during these years still bring a smile to his face, and among other things, the show also brought him more JUNO nominations! In all, albums he had a major or minor part in combine for a total of five JUNO nominations. One of these was the Eric's World record, nominated for the Best Children's Album JUNO award of 1995, which was awarded to the album Bananaphone by Raffi. As for best memories from the show? Eric told me that the best moments were the ones we never saw, the outtakes with his manager, the puppet C.J.

     The original running of the show ended on January 1st, 1996 after five years. A month after that, the Siege of Sarajevo in the Bosnian War ended and with this, Eric's next adventure began. After the war, a friend of his partner of twenty-three years, Diana, went overseas to the nearly destroyed city of Sarajevo to perform his juggling act to a group of children who had resettled in the area. Upon returning, while talking with Eric at his dinner table, the friend had asked if Eric wanted him to put him in touch with his overseas contact in regards to performing for the children too. Although he didn't really know much about the conflict, he jumped at the chance to go stating, “You only live once, so why not?” Diana felt that garage sales were enough life for her, so she'd be staying in Canada. Sarajevo was a learning experience for Eric. Looking around at the children, singing to them via two separate translators and seeing their destroyed homes. Learning how cultures that had lived in harmony for years were almost torn apart by religious fear and prejudice. He said it was scary to learn about, but even scarier to learn that it almost succeeded.

     Marching in America? Singing in Sarajevo? It didn't end there. Next was China. Nowadays, when Eric isn't working at his music and knick-knacks store in Shelburne, Ontario (The Second Fiddle), he's arranging workshops for the Human Awareness Institute (or HAI), an organization centred around love, intimacy and sexuality that focuses on learning to fully appreciate these feelings, how to be authentic, and how to be ourselves. This is an organization formed by the late Stan Dale, in Chicago. With Dale, Eric travelled on what was titled a “Citizen's Diplomacy Trip” for two weeks to teach some Chinese students the ideas and ideals of HAI, which to him was a truly interesting experience. Eric now has the role of planning HAI workshops in Ontario and the rest of Canada. After seventy years of experiences, Eric has decided to immerse himself in teaching others to live and love genuinely.

Eric's had an interesting life to say the least, and one thing he said to me really seemed to sum it up:

     “I was there marching with Reverend King, there when the police raided Washington Square, I refused to go underground during air raid drills, everybody went to city hall and stood silently when the air raids went off when we were supposed to be underground. I've marched for tons of things, but I was never passionate about it. I've met a lot of people who are very passionate, but sit on their asses. A lot of people who speak a lot but don't do anything. It was weird, people would always just assume I was passionate about something, yet really I was only ever doing what was right. The same thing with coming to Canada, I mean, joining the army was just wrong. I couldn't do that.”

     With that, I had to ask out of curiosity: Out of your seventy years of memories and adventures, from slamming on the piano with grandma to singing in war-torn Sarajevo to the children left with little happiness after the conflict, what was your greatest memory or adventure? He laughed and told me how, coincidentally, his greatest life memory happened only a week before I came to visit him. He had the chance to go to Florida and visit the true love of his life, his little granddaughter Ava. When he saw her, he saw something in her face that he taught him more than any other adventure. As he explained it, “how childhood brought infinite love from the start. One that emanates from inside, and one that he felt in the naturalness of the hug she gave him.”

     I couldn't expect a better answer. That's how I left off with Eric Nagler, glad I had the chance to meet in person the man millions have met through their television screens and in their hearts.

Eric Nagler and I