I thought about how great it was to be outdoors without being too cold or miserably hot. I did not have to worry about bugs or biting insects. I felt at peace and it was one of those nights where I felt I could simply fall asleep outdoors and that would be just fine.

As I sat back I thought about my grandmother, Louise, my Nookoom in Cree. She would have enjoyed this day. It had been a perfect warm autumn day. The sun shone through wispy clouds but with a dull light that signalled cooler weather. The air was warm and the trees were a perfect mix of fall colors and remnants of summer green. As the wind blew through the tall wild grasses and the trees it made sounds like rushing waves riding up on the shore of a great ocean side beach. She would have been happy to be outside, beside a campfire with one of her daughters and some grandchildren. There did not have to be a special occasion for anything. For her the occasion was to take advantage of a bright and perfect day to be outdoors.

I wasn’t sad about this thought. Instead, I considered how my grandmother would have wanted me to enjoy today and I did. I took the time to go out on my motorcycle and to ride along highways lined with the mushkeg wilderness of northern Ontario. By the end of my afternoon ride, my lungs were full of fresh fall air and I was neither too hot nor too cold.

As I rode back into town, I circled around to Elsie Lough’s house in old Iroquois Falls. She is someone I got to know through my friend Emily. There was a real estate “for sale” sign on her front lawn with “sold” on it. Someone was busy moving into the charming old home. I felt sad in a way with the realization that she had left her home of so many years to head south to be with family. It was time I guess, after all she is well over 90 years of age.

This ride past stately old homes and then past the Catholic Church took me back just a few short months. I thought about my late friend Emily and how important some of the more simple things in life were to her. A bird at her front window, a neighbour walking by or the sprouting of a new flower in her garden filled her with joy. I recalled warmly all of those Sundays for the past several years when I drove Emily and Elsie to Sunday mass. It was a highlight of their week. Myself and my friend Mike called it the church lady ride. Emily, Elsie and their mutual friend Rhea met at church and joined several other Sunday church goers for breakfast at Randy’s restaurant. This Sunday outing was a big deal to all of them. It was a testament to their independence and their need to reach out and brighten their own and the lives of others with friendly smiles, waves and local tales. Emily’s son Mike and I took turns as Sunday chauffeurs and drove them to the church and the restaurant in of all things, a rusty old truck. They never complained about the old Ford F150 and as a matter of fact they thought it was quite funny to arrive at church in their Sunday best in an old jalopy.

My Nookoom, my friend Emily, Elsie, Rhea and the church ladies all had something in common. They lived long enough to understand that the wonders of life have to do with the simple everyday things one does. It has to do with good family, friends and neighbours. It has to do with the smell of fall in the air, the sound and sight of the Canada geese heading south, the bright colours of a summer garden and the falling leaves in the autumn.

I learned long ago as a child in Attawapiskat that everything in life is temporary. Thanks to my Nookoom and the church ladies, I am reminded that this is not to be feared but embraced, as life’s precious moments slip through our hands every day. 

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