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Old 11-04-2004, 04:42 PM
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I have to admit….. I’m having a terrible time trying to concentrate at work today. I find that my mind is constantly wandering back to my friends and the experiences of these last several days. Indulge me a little further as I let my thoughts again turn to the whole experience.

TOM !!!! It would be easy to say that we feel sorry for Tom and his missing this event by just a weeks time but on the flip side, he is the one who will be able to visit the centre time and again upon his return to Timmins to feel the residual glow that Shania left behind. Tom will also find on his dining room table, copies of every news article I could find during my stay, including the full page ad in the Shania booklet, his own Nov. 2 2004 issue of the STC commemorative coin, a full size (2 sided) poster promoting both the GH CD / Nashville DVD, and maybe a few other goodies we’ll leave unmentioned.
Thanks for your hospitality Tom !!!!

Clode!!!! (Sorry if I’m not spelling your name correctly.) You married a great guy Nancy! He has become one of us through support of his wifes’ interest in Shania. He was taking care of everyone, including me (lent me gloves and a knit cap that I still need to return), making coffee runs in the middle of the night for those who were cold, getting postcards and posters for the crowds……heck this list would go on and on. In my book, there is a place in heaven carved out for people like him.

Steve and Ted!!! Steve was really feeling the cold more than others on Tuesday. I could see that…yet, his love of Shania overcame that and he can say he was there through it all. I can’t wait to see the pictures he took on regular film (not digital) Those photos will be filled with love because of his effort to tough it out in the cold. Speaking of love, after we had all got our moment with Shania, the sun was setting and a group of us stood in front of the STC to get group pictures taken with everyones cameras, (Ren acting as Photographer…. two cameras at a time). It was at that moment when Ted said his “goodbye” to me as he had to get on the road that night. A tear welled in his eye and with quiver in his voice he said, “I love ya man.” Without hesitation I gave him a bear hug and told him I love him too and to travel safe. Goodness can without question be felt. Ted carries goodness with him.

AFTERGLOW !!! Using the phrase attributed to when Elvis had finished a concert and “Shania had left the building” the security officers were able to relax and a few of us were able to go back inside the STC. We congregated over at the tables and chairs near the restrooms, sipping hot chocolate to warm our bones and basking in the memory of the events of the day. We spoke for a while with Jack Watson who was instrumental in the initiation of the idea of the STC and about the time he left, Tracy showed up in the midst of our group with wonderful little insights about her “Party for Two” with Shania to help put the finishing touches on the day that was ending. As our Hawaiian friend Dennis later confessed to me, that small little group huddled with Tracy in those final moments of Nov. 2nd at the STC was a sweet moment, a highlight all on it’s own. In respect to Eilleens’ privacy we’ll leave things “unposted” but rest assured, the STC has her stamp of approval.

THE FOX !!! Having been requested by the Toronto Country Radio Station to return for another interview at 8:30am on Tuesday morning, I’m certain I was the first fan to arrive to the STC when I walked up around 8:15am on Tuesday Nov. 2nd. None of my friends were at the front of the stage yet and the STC crew was still shuttling supplies to the various tents. As I waited for the media interviews that morning, all I could think about was missing the conversation and comradery (in the cold no less) with my friends. For once, I did not want to be inside the STC. And in an ironic twist of circumstance, after the events of the day were over, I was the last fan to leave the STC that night. When we got to Chris’s car there was one less seat than people. So I insisted that I’d walk to Caseys’ where we were all meeting for dinner. My friends Hymned and Hawed about me walking in the cold and the dark but I assured them it’d be alright. Just before reaching the STC gates, the red fox we’d seen on Sunday night while waiting for wristbands cut across the road in front of me. And a few moment later I heard soft footsteps behind me. I turn to see the fox stop in his tracks. He was following me on the road away from the STC. I took a few more steps and heard him still following behind me. I turned again to look at him. Once again he stopped in his tracks. My first honest instinct was to try to shoo him away. However he looked so beautiful on the road lit with the night sky and the STC behind him. It was peaceful everywhere. It was still and quiet. A calm washed over me and I let the Ojibway meaning of “I’m on my way” pass through my mind as I said one single word out loud to that friend of nature, “Shania.” At that word, I kid you not, that fox nodded his head in my direction and scampered off into the night. I’ll never forget it. Moments later, a car pulled over on the side of the road. It was Tracy and Sue headed over to Casey’s to join the gang for dinner. A smiling face said “Hey buddy you want a ride?” And with that, I was on my way.
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