Grim Day in the Great City
Bob Gainey is a figurehead in this city - as the Archbishop of the Church of the Habs, he ought to be.
It is perhaps fitting that the skies are dark and grey over montreal as the Canadiens GM is joined, by the entire city, in grief, this weekend. His daughter, Laura Gainey, was washed out to sea on Friday night and, as she's been forced to swim in rough seas for two or three days, it is entirely likely - almost certain, in fact - that she has perished. It can only be hoped that she shares her father's fortitude and endurance, and that the search party finds her today.
The GM's birthday is only two days away, and we can be fairly confident that we know what it is he wants to see when he sits down for breakfast with his family wednesday morning, and I sincerely wish that he gets it. It would be unfair to him - he who has survived a brutal career as a defensive forward, a difficult life raising four children alone and the loss of his wife to a malignant brain tumour - if he were forced to mourn once again.
It is a testament to Gainey's character that, unlike so many other celebrities on the continent undergoing a period of grief, he has been relatively unhassled by the press. He is a man of few words, with a reputation for privacy, honesty, hard work and good judgement; it is a reputation he has earned, and that cannot be overstated. The press knows this, and even the more adventurous, obnoxious and insensitive of journalists over at le Journal de Montréal have kept themselves reined in.
This city has had some terrible luck this fall, starting with the Dawson Shooting and ending with this unforseeable and incomprehensible tragedy. I am not one to believe in luck or the supernatural, but perhaps our gloomy weather has simply been fitting.
I, for one, am tired of the gloom and I wish the Gainey family all the best in finding their way through this latest and greatest of difficulties in their lives.
It is perhaps fitting that the skies are dark and grey over montreal as the Canadiens GM is joined, by the entire city, in grief, this weekend. His daughter, Laura Gainey, was washed out to sea on Friday night and, as she's been forced to swim in rough seas for two or three days, it is entirely likely - almost certain, in fact - that she has perished. It can only be hoped that she shares her father's fortitude and endurance, and that the search party finds her today.
The GM's birthday is only two days away, and we can be fairly confident that we know what it is he wants to see when he sits down for breakfast with his family wednesday morning, and I sincerely wish that he gets it. It would be unfair to him - he who has survived a brutal career as a defensive forward, a difficult life raising four children alone and the loss of his wife to a malignant brain tumour - if he were forced to mourn once again.
It is a testament to Gainey's character that, unlike so many other celebrities on the continent undergoing a period of grief, he has been relatively unhassled by the press. He is a man of few words, with a reputation for privacy, honesty, hard work and good judgement; it is a reputation he has earned, and that cannot be overstated. The press knows this, and even the more adventurous, obnoxious and insensitive of journalists over at le Journal de Montréal have kept themselves reined in.
This city has had some terrible luck this fall, starting with the Dawson Shooting and ending with this unforseeable and incomprehensible tragedy. I am not one to believe in luck or the supernatural, but perhaps our gloomy weather has simply been fitting.
I, for one, am tired of the gloom and I wish the Gainey family all the best in finding their way through this latest and greatest of difficulties in their lives.