TWO BROTHERS, TWO JOURNEYS, ONE SHARED ASPIRATION TRAVELING THE MINSTERAL ROAD

 TWO BROTHERS, TWO JOURNEYS, ONE SHARED ASPIRATION

TRAVELING THE MINSTERAL ROAD

As my brother Ian's memorial service approaches in Vancouver, with another planned soon in Edmonton, I reflect upon our lives, which took very different paths. Ian moved to Vancouver and dedicated himself to folk music and social justice, facing numerous hardships until he passed away from cancer in British Columbia’s Shelter system, unable to afford other housing. Leaving his girlfriend and one child.

I chose to pursue work in the east, dedicating my career to writing, social justice, mental health, and family. Even as a retired senior citizen, I continue to face challenges similar to those of Ian in fulfilling credit obligations and maintaining financial stability. This situation reflects the broader economic difficulties faced by many individuals in our country and province, which are only now beginning to recover from decades of poor fiscal decisions by previous leadership regarding wealth distribution.

I accept some responsibility for my setbacks, but Ian consistently demonstrated a strong work ethic in his day job and dedicated his evenings to recording in studios or performing with his band at nightclubs. Ian adopted a minimalist lifestyle and, despite earning a steady income amid Vancouver’s high cost of living, he always chose to reside in shared accommodation.

Things got worse for Ian as a pedestrian; he was struck by a BC Hydro Bus in the eighties, suffering severe Brain Damage that plagued him for the rest of his life.

Even with all of this struggle, Ian remained content. Ian's life was his music, and that is all he ever wanted. If you could bottle patience for medical distribution, his name would be on it. Ian was the textbook definition of the wandering minstrel; he lived to fulfill others by either the keyboards of his pianos or the many instrumental chords of his guitar.

Personally, I would head east to Toronto—a city that has also become largely unaffordable, leaving many residents homeless, hungry, or struggling to get by. My initial focus would be on writing and establishing a journalistic reputation. However, much like Ian's accident, my own mental health declined to the point where I crashed, encountering similar obstacles along the way. As a result, I had to reshape my life and find new strategies to navigate the mental roadblocks that kept appearing

I accepted a position at National Drug, now known as McKesson Canada, where I also met Karen and started a family. While there was an opportunity to remain in Toronto, continue writing, and collaborate with various organizations, the increasing responsibilities that came with each child led me to make a change. Consequently, I relocated to Alberta to prioritize raising and providing better care for my family and to focus solely on that.

Now in retirement, my children grown my dreams of becoming the writer I once aspired to be can now sit in the forefront of anything else. Taking my readers on fantastic journeys flowing from my mind to my pen. As long as I breathe, this is my new reality. I only wished the minstrel's song could have joined along.