Oakville and Toronto - July 9th

Judi and I exchange the Tour of Hope baton 40,000 feet up as she flies home to BC and I fly to Toronto Tuesday evening, June 8th.

Wednesday, June 9th and an early start to the day as we make our way to Breakfast TV on Queen.  The Toronto Police are graciously protecting the van at nights at their downtown location only a convenient couple of blocks from where Don and I are staying for three nights.  I meet Harry Carrigan, our OPP escort, who is only a few short weeks from retirement and I learn he proudly spent time with Terry in 1980. Though he seems disappointed that his time was brief, 30 to 45 minutes at best,  as he was there only to relieve a colleague who needed to "spend a penny".   Harry would comment a couple of days later that he could not think of a better way to end his OPP tenure then escorting Terry's van.

I ask Harry if he would mind taking the Lakeshore to Oakville instead of the QEW so the van could be reacquainted with the same road it traveled on 28 years earlier almost to the day.  My memories of this day are still strong and powerful and I reflect on the numerous reasons for this.  Certainly the wildness and excitement of the day before in Toronto and Nathan Phillips Square lifted Terry spirits and he seemed to be able to run with just a little less discomfort. I also appreciated the beauty of this stretch of road and in particular when the pavement narrows to single lane as you approach Oakville.  Though the stately homes have been renovated or replaced the road closely resembles how it looked so long ago when Terry was running.   Perhaps this explains this warm and pleasant feeling that consumes me when I am on this part of the Lakeshore.

We arrive just before noon at Appleby College where good friends from Oakville ScotiaMcleod are hosting a Tour of Hope BBQ.  I see many familiar faces, Lyndon, Rod, Joan, Walt and Andy to name just a few.  I meet once again Glemena who is already replicating her Marathon of Hope role in 1980 helping in any and every way that she can. Glemena has never seen before photos of Terry and I am a little overwhelmed as I try to absorb them all. The pictures confirm that though a "Terry" day was always long and full of unexpected challenges there was always time in the day to relax, smile and laugh.  I am introduced to little Adam and his family and Adam peppers me with Terry and van questions.    Adam, at the tender age of 6 and with very little persuasion from Mom and Dad, has raised $190.  Terry is in very good hands.

Craig, Judy, Nolan, Windemere and Somerset Jarvis open their home to friends and the Tour of Hope for an evening reception.  My prior time with the Jarvis family makes me realize I should not be surprised that their house is full of people who sincerely care about the well being of others.  It is a wonderful ending to another wonderful day with Terry's van.

Darrell Fox

   

Comments

[MotherhoodTheUltimateSurvivor]

Hi Darrell,

This is Sharon, Adam's mom. Terry is in good hands because Terry had a strong heart that has carried his message through the years. I was 11 years old when Terry was running and now my six year old son is continuing the dream. Terry inspires passion in people and gets them wanting to DO something instead of only talkig about it. You are so correct in saying that Adam raised money with little persuasion from his parents. Adam did what he did not because of us, but because of who he is and this was brought on by Terry. Terry inspired him. And how can he not be inspired but such a brave and courageous man, barely a man when he started his journey. Adam is giving back, we tried to instill this in him from an early age (yes, earlier than six), but the fire in him wasn't lit until he learned about Terry. Terry's name is a constant in our house. We talk about him, we read about him, we watch the movie about him and Adam wants to be like Terry when he grows up. I couldn't think of a better role model - I wouldn't want one. Adam started running to raise money for cancer as a completely altruistic endeavour but he has learned (thanks to you and ScotiaMcLeod) that giving has a wonderous feeling behind it. You gave him something that day that words will never be able to describe. Every day we talk about Adam's high points, medium points and low points. As he so eloquently put it, it was the high point of his life.

It should be us thanking Terry for teaching a young boy a message that most of us don't learn until we are much much older, if ever.

Sharon

[debbie loewen]

we went with joshua and daniel to nathan phillips square this past fall - we used to live in toronto when joshua was a baby and had gone back for a visit. joshua has so much video and picture footage of that event that he knew exactly where terry had stood with darryl sittler. he made one beeline for that spot, stood while i took his picture and said, 'now i'm REALLY connected to terry.' it was an awesome statement!