Monday, August 21, 2006

Big Buzzie

Some men look best dressed in business suits. You know the type? They look like a fish out of water in a pair of shorts and a golf shirt. They were born to wear a good tailored suit and tie. My father-in-law fits the bill. Tall, lanky and handsome, when he walked into a room in a navy blue suit all eyes were on him. He had a presence that illuminated any social function, and as he made his way around a crowd his down home Maritime-ness always pulled everyone in to whatever story he was rapturing on about. George, or "Buzzie" as he is known to his family and close friends is a social butterfly...........he loves a good story, a good joke, and always loved to be up on a dance floor. Good thing he spent a good deal of his working life as a politician. That too was a perfect fit.

When I first joined this family, it was at a time when George had recently stepped down from holding office in this neck of the woods for 21 years............a darn good run. He was returning to his legal practice after a busy political life where he held many portfolios, including the first Environment Minister in Ontario. Though he had returned to a more private life, he was still very actively involved in the community. He kept in contact with his political friends and actively supported his party by continuing to attend meetings, and to canvas.

Buzzie thrived as a politician, representing his constituency at the provincial level and overseeing various Departments along the way. Though I didn't know him personally at the time, I certainly knew of him, growing up in his riding. As Minister of the Environment, his major emphasis was to try to clean up the Hamilton harbour in Lake Ontario, which at the time was so full of chemicals and pollution from the large steel companies nestled on the periphery of the shores, across the bay in Hamilton. All swimming had been banned for many years. Eating fish caught from the lake was avoided. Like Lake Erie, it was heading towards becoming a "dead" lake, where plants and water life was becoming extinct. George oversaw the instigation of the measures to try to turn things around in the mid-1970's. To prove the point that the harbour was swimmable and not dangerous, Buzzie donned an old fashioned one piece striped bathing suit jumped into the sludgey waters of Lake Ontario.

It was a great publicity stunt during a campaign, which also included the candidates from the other two parties............one driving a car/boat and another who tried to "walk on water" on a pair of stilts. And, it must have worked. He was elected again to represent his riding.

Buzzie has always been game to take part in anything social. Whether it was a beach supper in Nova Scotia with a crew of all ages, or a political shin-dig he was game. He actively played tennis, never missed watching a Ti-Cats football game, read the newspapers voraciously, watched the evening news daily, never missed a Law and Order episode. If a party was in the offing, he was there. But, what he loved to do more than anything was talk politics. There was nothing more invigorating for him than to have his family around the dining room table discussing the intricacies, policies, and events of Canadian political history. Often loud and heated, always entertaining. The more the wine flowed, the more gregarious the conversation became and the more he thrived. Verbal and intellectual jousting with his son, my husband, was a sport for him.

One my more memorable moments with him was the evening he took me to Toronto out for dinner and to see Les Miserables. It was one of the only times when it was just he and I. Over the years, we have had many heated discussions on the politics of the day, he always showed an interest in "my take" on things........... but this evening was a quieter moment. As we ate dinner, I asked him several questions about his 21 years as an elected official. I was an audience of one as he described some of the highlights and reflected on the more difficult times. I have always been grateful for the evening alone with him.

The other night, I made dinner for my family and my in-laws. Together for the first time in a year (because we live far away from them) we shared a meal together that was much more subdued than the ones from our past. It was during dinner that I realized Buzzie's capacity to debate and joust had disappeared. He finds long winded stories too confusing. Sometimes even simple words are lost in the ozones.

Buzzie is now in his 80's. He's been battling Alzheimers now for several years. The other night, we had dinner with him and my mother in law who is also quite frail. Gone is the anger and lashing out that often accompanies this horrendous disease. Gone is the overwhelming frustration he suffered from as he fought to retain control of his thoughts and actions. Still able to have brief conversations before his train of thought becomes confused, he tried to tell me a few stories of his glory days. When attempts were made to kibbitz with him though, to get him going like we normally do, he couldn't take the bait. Alzheimers has stolen his sense of humour.

Sadly, gone is the strong imposing man dressed in his dashing suit and tie who could work a room like no one else. He doesn't know how to smile and laugh anymore. He's losing awareness.

What an unforgivable disease.

9 comments:

BarbaraFromCalifornia said...

Or from another perspective, perhaps you are gaining awareness.

I have found, in my life, and we are close in age, that every moment of our lives presents us with something new: we can make it become a challenge, and learn from it, or an obsticle, and let it hold us back.

Sounds as if you have some beautiful memories, and I mean that.

Rainbow dreams said...

I find it an unforgiving disease - a friend of ours is struggling, as are her family with this - all I can take from it are lessons learned over and over about seizing the moment and living each day as fully as we can - memories are precious

The Harbour of Ourselves said...

cruel, so cruel...

Sunny said...

This was a wonderful post! It is a sad thing to watch a flower wilt from the inside out. Although there are other diseases such as Cancer that rob one of their body it is much more devastating to see one's mind the target of illness while the body remains the same. You expect them to be fine because they look fine. You expect that they are still the same when really they have moved on to another realm and have left their shell behind to deal with the pieces.
There have been so many developments around this disease but for so many loved ones it is too little too late.
Thank you for the words. I needed them today.

X said...

It is a horrible disease. To still be alive in your body, but your mind and soul just wasting away. It sad to see others grow older and even though it is inevidible, it's hard to accept. At least there will always be the memories of your times together and the stories you have heard. I wish there was a wat to reverse the affects of Alzheimers.

Ellen said...

I am so touched by this story because I have two men in my life that were, and are, affected by it. My Uncle now resides in a home, because his memory has long since left him, and my Dad suffered from dementia (al's little cousin).

I remember calling my Dad shortly before he died, and felt that he really didn't know who I was, even though he carried on a conversation with me. It broke my heart knowing there was nothing I could do to help reverse the effects.

On the other hand, my Uncle did not go down without a fight to this disease. He became very violent (the reason my Aunt was forced to put him in a home), and his recall is limited to things that happened many years ago, but nothing of today. He had a spur of recollection not to long ago, but the nurses explained to my Aunt that they sometimes go through that before the end actually claims them completely.

It is not an easy thing to watch happen to someone you love, and I feel for you and your family.

paris parfait said...

Yes, it's a tragic disease, which ravages so many families. It's good that you have such happy memories to keep with you always.

awareness said...

Hello everyone.

Just got back from vacation and read all of your comments.

Barbara.....welcome home. I read your blog post on your insights and thoughts. I'm so glad your trip was as meaningful as it was for you and your family.
Your comments here are quite right. I did find that I was gaining awareness, though sadly I wish I didn't need to.

Rainbow......memories are precious. It's a concept that definately was reinforced on this trip.

Ego........life's harshest? Definately one of them. Who knows perhaps a better method of intervention and prevention or some such discovery is not too far away.

Harbour...... very cruel, you're right. It's difficult sometimes to look beyond the cruelty in this world, cause there's enough of it to affect our view in such a negative way.......I guess we just have to find some balance so that the miraculous little bits of beauty shine through as well.

Sunny............Thank you for your kind words. I think any disease that impacts an individual, that robs them of a part of who they are, and that impacts their daily living and independence is just as harsh. Cancer can be so devastating for both the individual directly affected and for all the family members who have to take a passive backseat and hope that the healing and the medical intervention is affective.
It comes down to control or lack thereof, doesn't it? And, it's difficult to "surrender" to God's plan when the future seems so unknown and foreboding.

Leftfield.........Hey drove thru your neck of the woods yesterday....through the busy tunnel and kept going!!

Watching the aging process, especially when one lives far away from family is difficult because there are such leaps in the process in between visits that it can all be quite shocking.

Ellen.......glad you had a good trip.
Thank you for sharing your stories about your Dad and Uncle.
What I didn't write about was that my mother in law has been diagnosed with dementia..... somehow they are both able to live at home still with the help of a live in caregiver. Both are also physically weak from other health issues, which makes the whole situation quite stressful, especially for my husband. He found this trip more wrenching that the previous ones because he could see how frail both his parents were.

One last comment......I did see the flicker of wit from Buzzie while saying goodbye. He gave me a hug and told me that I was "lookin' good." His reply? "No, I'm not! I'm an old man."
I replied...... "Well, I still think we should head out of here and go dancing........"
His reply........." Now that would be a chore!"
We both laughed.

Canadian Sentinel said...

Well, I don't really know what to say, except I'm glad y'all had a nice visit.