TERRY'S LIFE; a PRECIS
I was born in Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia on May 24th, 1955, raised in Amherst and
educated at King's College School 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. I spent my
19th year travelling through the United States, the
Caribbean, central and South America with an
international 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.
************
My home, "Hirtle House", circa 1889. Ariel, my dog in foreground
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!) 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 Conference on 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 crises, 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 (10 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, 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.
I find it challenging and very rewarding, seeing
the adults of tomorrow in their recovery, becoming
responsible for their lives and actions. 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 53 years and are still in love!
I have one sister, Pat who is 40 this year.
She lives outside Tucson, Arizona, and spends her summers on Prince Edward Island. Pat is a professional clarinetist and her big brother is quite proud of her!
(Oh, yeah, the stats!Hmmm...single,5'9",155 Bl. shaved/Gr,did I mention single?!)
Update: 08 September, 1998: In April, 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 05 September, she weighs 21.6 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'.
A friend, a fellow PWA, emailed me with this quote from The Tempest and he said that the quote had a new meaning in the age of AIDS. Quotes Ariel:
"While you here do snoring lie,
Open-eyed conspiracy
His time doth take,
If of life you keep a care,
Shake off slumber and beware,
Awake, awake!"
~
Last week I went to volunteer for our new local theatre here in Lunenburg, because I want to see it suceed. Nice to have a touch of culture out here. I left the interview as the Director of Marketing, which will be a challenge filling a 450 seat theatre in a town of 2,500, expecially in the winter months here. It's named the Starlight Theatre.
When one lives in a very small town, one must come up with unique ways of amusement. It helps to be a 'come from away' because the locals expect you to be, um, eccentric.
'THE END OF THE EMPIRE SOCIETY'
commemorating the loss of Hong Kong to China, summer '97
Rosie and Terri's Uniforms courtesy of the Boer War
Terry and George's kilts, both Dress & Hunting Tartan, courtesy of Clan Munroe
Kilt pins & accessories courtesy of 'Tiffany's'
'There is a tendancy for living things to join up,
establish linkages, live inside each other,
return to earlier arrangements,get along,whenever possible.
This is the way of the world!'
(- Mr Lewis Thomas )
THE SURVIVORS
Cross a windy bridge one winter night.
Past Embankment Gardens enter warmth and light.
Face the music - it's never easy
forget the chill
If life is worth living it's got to be done.
One might be forgiven for thinking
it's a life on the run.
Look around; picture what's in store.
Is this the final edit, or is the subject now a bore?
Don't shrug your shoulders - it's always easy
you can't ignore.
That life is worth living it's still worth a damn.
One might be forgiven for thinking it's something of a sham.
Many words may make it sound contrived
but somehow we're alive.
The Survivors
Our heads bowed
The Survivors
At memorials for other faces in the crowd
Teachers and artists - it's never easy
and Saturday girls
In suits and sequins - it's never easy
or twinsets-and-pearls.
If life is worth living it's got to be run.
As a means of giving and not a race to be run.
Many roads will run through many lives but somehow we'll arrive.
Many roads will run through many lives but somehow we'll suvive.
Tennant/Lowe
My alter ego, Eeyore,(the cute one on the right!)
...teaching Pooh his R&R's...Piglet monitors...!
from Terry's A.A.Milne collection
(a LONG story from many years ago, kids!)
Terry, 1995
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One thing is sure:
man today must be obsessed;
if he is,
there is still hope.
If he is passionate,
meaning com-passionate,
...there is hope.
- Elie Wiesel.('Messengers of God',1976)
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