late Sunday, 9 October 2005 [11:30 p.m.]:
Keith –Wow! What a day today has been! Early this morning, while I was still in bed (6:45 a.m.), the computer chimed to signal that an email had come in. It was early and I was all snuggly in bed and I wasn’t expecting anything spectacular so I just stayed in bed. It wasn’t ‘til later that I looked – AND DON HAS WRITTEN !!!! I am sooo chuffed! You couldn’t wipe the grin off my face with a baseball bat.
The big news – I have just now found out that your ashes weren’t scattered over East Arm like I thought – but way up north over the Skeena River somewhere. That must have been some trip for your daughter, eh? That’s the other news and it’s not great for me – your pilot mate has retired and moved to the Yukon Territory and Paul has sold the ranch and bought a fifth wheeler and is travelling around the southern U.S. (carefully avoiding Louisiana and Texas, I am sure). What, do you suppose, has happened to poor Sunny? I hope she hasn’t been too confused by all that has happened since you saw her on the 10th of February.
I wrote Don a l-o-n-g letter and asked his advice about a couple of things (including that "April" thing that always had me guessing). He’ll be in Vancouver and I guess he’ll get the package from Alison on Monday (which is Thanksgiving Day for you Canucks) and I think he’ll mail it on Tuesday – I am sooo excited! Finally, finally I will have it! Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for sending it to me, especially when you were sick. I hope like hell that you have written a nice letter to go with it. But whatever comes, I will be so grateful to you – and so very, very grateful to Don. I’m getting a tad weepy just thinking about it and I will cry inconsolably when I get it – I know just holding it in my hands will be such an emotional thing for me. And when I finally see that salt-stained brim of that beloved Sage hat, the tears will pour forth like Horseshoe Falls I am sure. They will be tears of joy and tears of loss and tears of gratefulness. I have been so very, very blessed to have been able to have met you and come to love you and to have you think that I was (and am!) your friend.
Now the Skeena in winter will be a very, very difficult thing and I am coming to believe that I won’t be able to make it for our "anniversary". I can’t remember when you said your birthday was (I am so embarrassed to say it – but that was so early in our relationship and I had no idea back then that I was going to go and fall in love with you) but maybe that would be a good time to come. Anyway, Grizz, you shall have your jacaranda tree – let me make that my third promise to you. What a shame I didn’t think of it before you died and I could have let you know and you could have told me more about the Skeena River before you left us. My friend Tom, from Duncan, is submitting the plant inspection paperwork to Ottawa on my behalf so there is plenty of time now to get the permit.
Don actually sounded like he was OK about us meeting. How excellent that would be! I will have to bring a tape recorder to get all the stories down (if he doesn’t mind). Not only would it be just fantastic to hear stories about you but Don seems like such a lovely person and it would be great to get to know him on his own.
Today was a big day on the Australian motor racing calendar – it was the day of the Bathurst 1000 V8 Super Cars. Graham took me up to Mount Panorama in Bathurst earlier this year and he even let me drive his practically brand new Holden V8 Commodore on a few laps. It was a great experience and it made today’s race all the more interesting since I knew first-hand how treacherous corners like "The Dipper" are. So, of course, that made me think often about Graham today. But I couldn’t be sad – not with having that email from Don in my Inbox this morning!
Honey, I have to go. It’s just gone midnight and I have a few things to do before I can get ready for bed. My brain is going: "Vancouver, then ferry to Prince Rupert, hitch to Hazelton, beg, borrow, steal lift on plane or jetboat or sled or Hummer up as far as I can get – to First Cabin, at least." Or there’s the script that goes: "Vancouver to Hope, north on Highway 97 to Prince George, stopping at 108 Mile Ranch and Quesnel Lake on the way. Then NW on Highway 16 to Hazelton, do the Skeena thing, then west to Prince Rupert. Ferry down to Vancouver, stopping at Bella Coola to leave some flowers for Clayton on the way. And Don, taking some time to see Don." (Of course I'll stop in Duncan to see Tom, too.)
So there you go, things finally seem to be coming together. I have really been stressing lately over a lot of things and now it seems as if things are finally starting to come together. As you know, the last year and a half have been really hard on me so it is great to finally have things start to come together. Keith, you are the second most important thing in my life and the second nicest person that I have ever met. You have shared so much of yourself with me and taught me so many things and tried like hell to make my life better. Many, many people do not understand where I am coming from but if they knew me better and knew you at all and knew what we shared they would understand what it is all about.
Time for me to say goodnight. You can rest easy, too, knowing that the things that you wanted me to have are on their way. Aren’t we lucky to have Don as a friend! Love ya’, you big, handsome Canuck!
- Susan
posted by Susan @ 12:45 am
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