Sorry, World...Canada is closed today; there has been a death in the family

The title for this post comes from comments I've seen around Facebook this morning as the death of Canadian legend Gord Downie was announced. We've known since his cancer diagnosis this was going to happen, and yet, we hoped to hell it wouldn't. I'm the first to admit I was never a huge fan of Gord, or The Tragically Hip up until his diagnosis....and yet, then I took the time to listen, to truly listen to his words, and read more about his advocacy and his causes.

 It wasn't really until last year, when my oldest did a project on Downie's Secret Path that I truly got into the band, and the man..it was never my cup of tea..BUT... As my boy sat there explaining reconciliation  with tears streaming down his face,  I truly got what a master this man was with his lyrics.

 When my then 11-year old son said "“nobody wants to live in a grey world … Culture’s the roots of everything.” it was because Gord Downie spoke words he understood, now my kid's smart....and an old soul, but it was truly this project that made him understand life, and how unfair life was for certain people in the world.

One of our local radio personalities said this morning, Gord always spoke with a purpose, he never wasted words and they meant something. I think I understood that more myself, when I heard The Hip's song Wheat Kings.  A song written about David Milgaard who spent 20 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit. "Twenty years for nothing, well, that's nothing new.Besides, no one's interested in something you didn't do" How true are those words?   He's right, and it has happened so many times........but he spoke out about so many atrocities that maybe, just maybe people would ignore or not know about but he wouldn't allow that to happen.  There are so many more songs I wish I could discuss but, it's hard to type through the tears.


We will miss his quiet grace, his talent.....but mostly we'll just miss Gord, who was so much a part of Canada even the Prime Minister was in tears (and the first person to turn this into a political bashing post will be deeply sorry)  but as his words stated "we are less of a country without Gord Downie in it"

Another Legend Gone..

I have struggled to find the words to say about Tom Petty and I know I can't do him justice. All I can say is it sucks that another music legend is gone. I am starting to feel like I never post here unless someone has died. He was another one I've loved since I was a little girl,  and the Alice In Wonderland style video for Don't Come Around Here No More gave me nightmares especially the scene where Alice turns into cake and he, as the Mad Hatter cuts a piece of her out.....but it was the beginning of my exposure to his musical genius, that existed before I was born.  I have used I Won't Back Down as my theme song.  I used to pretend that Don't Do Me Like That was sung to me, by someone I cared deeply for was sung to me and that maybe when he saw me with someone else he realized what he lost.  Seeing a young Johnny Depp in Into The Great Wide Open.  Listening to Free Fallin' and You Don't Know How It Feels with friends...it's just, hard to wrap my brain around......another one on my bucket list.......another one gone with no chance of it happening....my heart keeps breaking more and more