It was September of 1979 when I first met Kelly. We had both enrolled in the Leisure Education Diploma Program at Mount Royal College in Calgary. I think that it was our offbeat sense of humor, creative thinking and spontaneous nature that made us hit it off so well and to develop a lifelong friendship that has lasted 36 years. We had many memorable adventures together through those years. We shared a residence in Calgary for a few years after college along with our good friend and college classmate Ed Ball. We referred to the home as Scuttlebutt Lodge and had many memorable times there. “If the walls could only talk!”. Kelly was not known for his cleaning ability but I must say that he was quite the connoisseur in the kitchen. It was Kelly that introduced us to mystery stew! Kelly would tear the labels off the cans in the cupboard and then randomly select a ½ dozen of them and mix them into one pot! We had some interesting results to say the least!
Kelly and I had a number of adventures together! (Honestly, I'm surprised we survived some of those!) One memorable or should I say “slightly memorable” trip that we had in the early 80’s to Penticton still sticks in my mind. Kelly introduced me to “Vikings”. I am not talking about his ancestors but rather another one of Kelly’s creative concoctions that he mixed in a picnic jug to take to the beach. It consisted of a bottle of Scotch, a bottle of Kahlua, mixed with enough milk and ice to fill the jug. (Delicious and nutritious but potent!). I lost the better part of a day and a night I will never get back. All that I know for sure is that we started at the beach in the afternoon with our picnic jug of Vikings and I woke up doing the breast stroke in a motel swimming pool in the middle of the night with no one else around and I was still in my shorts and t shirt. To this day, I have no idea how I got there or where it was! There was a locked compound around the pool and I had to climb over the fence to get out. I rang the night buzzer to awaken the motel manager and stood there dripping wet in the lobby while I asked him two very important questions. First of all I asked if he would please call me a cab and secondly I asked if he could tell me where I was! When I finally got back to the camp site where we were staying after I figured out where I was, I discovered that Kelly was not there. He arrived by cab later in the morning after being let out of a cell @ the police station. When he was released, he said he saw my shoes there but didn't see me so he wasn't sure where I was. Life lesson learned: “Beware of the Viking! “.
As I mentioned earlier, Kelly and I had a common bond of offbeat humor, creative thinking and spontaneity. I believe that it was on this same trip that the wind shield wipers quit working on my not so classic 1977 Ford LTD while we were travelling during a rainstorm. This proved to be only a minor setback as we pulled over, took the laces out of our sneakers and tied laces to each of the wiper blades, strung them through the opened driver and passenger windows and Kelly sat in the passenger seat with a lace in each hand, pulling the wipers back and forth with the shoe laces. I was a bit wet and breezy in the car but the windows were clear! We got some interesting looks when stopped at red lights as Kelly worked his magic!
Kelly and I came up with some top notch business ideas over the years as well. Do you remember the electronic game called “Simon” where there were 4 colors that would flash in various sequences and you had to replicate the sequence? Kelly had the idea to make a similar game with only one color and we would call it “Simple Simon”. The man was brilliant! Another brilliant business idea was born out of a trip that we took to Edmonton from Calgary one summer day! We decided to take the back roads and stop at every small town that we came to and have a pint of draft beer at their local establishment. The trip took us a good 12 hours but it was enlightening! We thought it would be a great endeavor to travel the province of Alberta, stopping at every drinking establishment for a pint of draft beer and to rate the establishment on service, décor, entertainment and cleanliness. We were going to call our book “The Draft Dodgers Guide to Alberta”! Kelly had some other incredible “hidden” talents such as hanging spoons from his face, juggling, and balancing a curling broom on his nose.
Over the years, Kelly has been an integral part of my life and the life of Joyce, and our children and most recently, our grandchildren. He was the best man at our wedding and has been very much a part of our family’s life over the years! He even sent gifts from Australia to our grandchildren when they were born. In true Kelly fashion, he sent story books to our grandchildren entitled “Dinosaurs Wear Underpants” and “Pirates Wear Under pants”. I have countless stories and precious memories of Kelly. At the mention of his name I get this huge smile on my face! Kelly was a gentle soul. He always had time for others and despite the health issues that he face which robbed him of many of the activities that he loved to participate in, he never complained! He loved life and he loved being with friends and family. He was the ultimate optimist and took on each day with a smile and kind word or act towards everyone he would meet! We will certainly miss him but he will remain in our hearts and our memories forever! He was and forever will be a special part of my family and I! God Bless!
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