upd at ed 15/11/02

Terry's Bio

( portrait from the book, Look Beyond by Michelle Valberg )

I was born in Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia on May 24th, 1955, raised in Amherst and educated at King's College School now King's Edgehill (they let GIRLS in now!)in Windsor, NS and Albert College in Belleville, Ontario, both boarding schools. University of Arizona in Tucson and Mount Allison located in Sackville, New Brunswick which has been voted several times as the best small university in Canada. For several summers in my teens, I also attended music camp there where I reluctantly learned to (kinda) play the clarinet.When I was 5, I started piano lessons, which I continued for 10 years, along with 7 years of figure skating. I spent my 19th year travelling through the United States, the Caribbean, central and South America with an international, educational music and dance troupe called Up With People which helped me develop a sense of social conscience from what I saw and experienced.I have also travelled Europe and the United States extensively on my own. I came out early in life and was swept up in the early days of the Gay Liberation Front. When I moved to Vancouver in 1977, I joined the Gay Alliance Towards Equality.A lot of what we accomplished back then was not recorded very well mainly because many of the people involved were lost to the AIDS epidemic.Some old documents from that era can be read at the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives. Older gay Canadians reading this may remember what a rowdy bunch of shit disturbers we were! I encourage you younger folk to read about your heritage and the history of the gay rights movement. We've come a long way in a relatively short time.

On October 24, 1984,a pivotal day in my life, I took ill, came to in quarantine, to discover I had PCP, automatically giving me an AIDS diagnosis. After surviving that,the first bout of several opportunistic infections, and two bouts with cancer, the warrior side of me (I'm a double Gemini, which helps!...and a 'wood goat') went into full swing, and the years leading up to '96 were busy taking on the government, bureaucrats, bigots, the naive and the media, (basically living in my office at AIDS Service Organizations!).I've sat on boards and worked on projects at a national level such as the Housing and Special Needs and the Income Security Projects for the Canadian AIDS Society. In 1994 I was involved with the Senate Special Committee on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide in Ottawa. The last project I worked on before leaving ASOs was the HIV/AIDS Survival Training Project which was presented as an abstract at the XI International Conferenceon AIDS in my old stomping grounds of Vancouver.I had the honour to work with and meet many wonderful, talented and courageous people while I was involved in this research.

I'm member # 39 at the British Columbia Persons With AIDS Coalition which was the Vancouver PWAC when I joined. Now they have 3,500 members. I must admit I enjoyed it all! If you can't have fun, why do it! Coming close to the edge several times makes one enjoy life to the n'th degree. Along this path that fate had presented me, I have met, appreciated, (and lost) many incredible people of all sorts and age, sizes, professions, gender and orientation. I've been amazed and moved by how, in times of crisis, angels appear to aid us and others. Some of you may remember a Viet Nam era poster with the quote; 'God's picking all his flowers...."And When times looked their bleakest, someone would enter my life, or something would happen to rejuevenate my faith in humanity. When my long time companion (12 years) Don, the great love of my life passed away from AIDS-related illnesses, I decided to hand down the gauntlet to the younger, new breed appearing on the scene, and returned to my homeland. I love my new home here in Lunenburg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Not wanting to totally give up working for social change,I found a new passion. I now work with adolescents with addiction problems, through the Youth Support Foundation which as of June, 1998 I am chair of.(Re-elected, June '99).I find it challenging and very rewarding, seeing the adults of tomorrow in their recovery, becoming responsible for their lives and actions. I've battled alcoholism and opiate additions in the past, and know the challenge of the battles they have. Currently we have started a 'farm project' where we are cultivating 40 acres for organic vegetables, herbs and flowers, and hope to supply all our food banks to the best of our ability. We have a mentorship program linking them with older people to teach them skills such as bee keeping and twig furniture manufacturing. I also became an apprentice dory builder (wooden boat) because I always wanted to work with wood and my hands. My mentors have the patience of Job with me and stand WAY back when I'm using power tools, especially our antique bandsaw! I'd also like to mention my parents, Walter and Truleen who are also my best friends. I was adopted at birth, and a child couldn't have been blessed with more loving and supportive folks than I was gifted with. They helped mold my spiritual well-being. In their late '70s, they are active volunteers on so many committees that I can't keep track of them! They still have a deep commitment to social issues such as education and health reform. They have been married 54 years and are still in love and very devoted to each other. I have one sister, Pat who is 40 this year. She lives outside Tucson, Arizona with her husband, John and spends her summers on Prince Edward Island. Pat is a professional clarinetist and her big brother is quite proud of her! She re-married on Aug 19th ('00)in Tubac, Az.

In April, '98, I acquired a dog. One of the kids in Youth Support thought I should have one, so she went on a quest! In April, she heard of a farm in Queens County that had 35 dogs and 3 horses the RSPCA was going to 'put down' because of neglect, so Brandi and my best friend George trotted down to save one for me sight unseen. They brought home a smelly little black dog with white paws that only weighed 7 lbs. I immediately fell in love (well, after I gave her a good long bath!). I've named her Ariel (no, not from Disney! from Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'). As of 12 July (99), she weighs 27 lbs and can run a mean streak. If you ever decide to get a pet, I highly recommend adopting one. There are so many dogs and cats out there, unwanted, but full of love, and like us, they deserve to live a full life. If you live in Nova Scotia or PEI, here is a list of Humane Shelters. Our local shelter is S.H.A.I.D. which stands for 'Shelter for Homeless Animals in Distress'. In September, I went to volunteer for our local theatre here in Lunenburg the Starlight, because I wanted to see it succeed. Nice to have a touch of culture out here. Unfortunately, it closed in December,'98 due to lack of funds, but we had a helluva closing bash. (....we Bluenoser's have all that experience from our notorious 'kitchen parties'!)

12 July, 1999 I'm now also the Executive Director of the newly created Lunenburg Family Resource Centre. Youth Support's Farm Project is now in it's second year, and I secured funds from Labatt's Brewery (how ironic!!) to pay wages to some of the kids, giving them an added incentive to haul water, weed and shovel manure....

04 Jan/99 In December, the Family Resource Centre received generous Federal funding from Human Resources Development Canada. We now have staff, and 3 programs running. We have been offered space in the historic town hall and are using the kitchens and meeting spaces in the town community centre.

22 June, 2000 Long time since I updated this page, eh? The Family Resource Centre now has over a dozen projects on the go, from a Toy Lending Library to a Community Kitchen and Car Smarts for women. On June 14th I stepped down as director feeling that I had done my part and needed to direct all my energy on Youth Support where the farm is into year 3 now; last season there were 37 teens involved. I'll stay on the Family Centre as an advisor. This is my third year as chair, and we held our annual awards banquet at White Point Beach Resort, Queens County the first of June with His Honour, the Lieutenant Governor, J. James Kinley presenting. The whole programme of Youth Support is under threat of funding cuts in recent slashing and burning by the Tory government who seem to be mainly attacking Health and Education in this latest sweep.

In March I was diagnosed with colon cancer, ironically enough, the same week Katie Couric was gracing Time Magazine's cover talking about her late husband's battle with it. I had several small tumours removed (ouch!) and feel pretty good now.

Summers' here, and I'm writing this from my favourite spot on earth: my cottage. Listening to the surf crashing on a warm starry night makes up for those short, bitter cold winter days we perservere up here north of the 49th.

19 march/01 Been a while between updates. It's been one of the roughest winters weatherwise in a couple of decades, but the snow is starting it's retreat. In December, a dozen plus kids and I went on a winter camping retreat for Leadership Training. Since then I've also done Bullying and self-esteem workshops with them. This weekend we start greenhouse planting at the farm, now in its' 4th year. One of the greenhouses was destroyed in the December Gales. Youth Support has been instrumental to the new Community Health Board's Mentorship Initiative and 'my' kids have become mentors to 4-12 year olds in the Bridgewater area.

In January, Walter, my Dad, had his first heart attack, but survived and is back on the mend, under my Mother's close scrutiny!

In October, a local Rotary Club was formed, and I am now secretary of that. We now have about 30 members, and besides doing charitable functions throughout our area, we have great parties!

Sometime soon, when the last of the snow leaves, I HOPE to find time to open up the cottage for another season!

September, 2001 Summer did finally come and I got to spend August at the cottage, plus a week with my sister on Prince Edward Island. Due to drought, the farm wasn't very productive, but we did erect a 400 foot log fence around the main garden. (Crop failure lends to extended holidays!) This fall we're shifting priorities to fruit trees and log furniture manufacturing and abandoning vegetables for just herbs. 

 

.....the story continues......

When I was 21, I would have never dreamed that I'd be doing the things I do today being carefree, immortal, and being the rebel that I was then. At that age I feared what I thought was 'old age'. I also thought I'd never live to see the end of the twentieth century.....I love my life, and I'm content with who I have become. The world itself still needs a little fine tuning though...but hell, don't we all!

Peace and Light

TERRY

Terry & Ariel, Summer 2001