Chapter 4... Three Plus One More is Four

On a sunny Spring day in April, Graeme was cruising the shores of Gull Lake. The warming sun rippled over the waves. Graeme picked up sticks and turned over stones looking for critters and crawlers. A branch cracked behind him and Graeme turned with a start. Standing in a spotlight of sun was a tall goose. The goose stood still with dark sunglasses covering his eyes. The goose extended his wings and said to Graeme "Hey kid, you want to finish my can of Coke?" 

Graeme was silent for a moment before asking the animal's name. "Gerry" answered the goose. "I found this pop over there, but I don't want it any more", he said. Graeme declined the offer and asked Gerry why he had not seen him around before.

Gerry looked out over the water, "I'm a free spirit. I go where my compass leads", he said. "I like it here, but I don't want to stay here. There is lots of world out there, you know?" 

Graeme nodded not really knowing what Gerry was talking about. "I like it here too. I have family here and I go to school here. I also have friends here", he said. "What more is there?", Graeme asked. Gerry smirked. "There are more answers in this world than questions, kid", said the goose. "Enjoy yourself and what you have".

Finished with the conversation, Gerry kicked the half empty can into a nearby garbage can, spread his wings and took off into the air. Gerry circled up into the sky before gliding down towards a nearby beach where he landed and stood with two feet in the water. 

Graeme thought Gerry was an odd character. Gerry knew what he wanted and went after it. For days Graeme would recall the conversation and try to picture the places Gerry would fly off to. Eventually, Graeme stopped thinking about Gerry, but the lesson stayed. If Graeme wanted something he had to set a plan for it. From this conversation that occurred on a sunny April morning, Graeme learned to set goals and work for them. Gerry, a free spirit with no calling or direction provided Graeme with the structure that would guide him to success later on.

Chapter 3... Graeme Learns To Play Hockey

When Graeme was three he was adventurous, he left his home and was taken in by a great Gravenhurst family. When Graeme was 11 he began to miss the colony of beavers that found him. So, Graeme began searching for a comfortable compliment to the life he now lived. At school he made friends, but it lacked a certain quality that Graeme could not express. On a cool Fall day Graeme was wandering in the bush behind his now childhood home. He noted the leaves as their colours changed, the birds as their chirps warned of upcoming cold weather.  Graeme came upon a swamp he was not familiar with. In the swamp he swam and he felt free.  Graeme introduced himself to a new colony of beavers that made their home in the swamp.  He wanted to belong, but was turned away. Graeme felt betrayed, he felt he was one of them, but they could not see it. He had never been treated this way before... In tears Graeme went home.

Graeme told his Gravenhurst mother all about the beavers in the swamp and how they turned him away because they could not see him as one of their own. Graeme's mom held him tight and said to him "we will find you somewhere to belong".

Soon after, it was only a distant memory. Graeme was brought to a hockey rink in the city. He was familiar with the building and its function, but never paid much attention to the people inside. On the ice he saw for the first time a game of sledge hockey being played. Graeme smiled. He saw people just like him, but also people different from him. They were all focused on the puck and paid no attention to anything outside the glass surrounding the iced surface.  

Excited to learn to play hockey Graeme borrowed some equipment, much of it so big on him that he was lost inside it. His helmet hanging low over his eyes he still managed to find a puck and practice stick handling. Graeme sat in his sled in front of an empty net, alone. With hIs eyes closed to the world, but open to imagination he took his first slap shot. He saw the arena cameras flash as the puck sailed through the air past the goalie and rippling the mesh while the goal horn blared for a game winning goal. Graeme opened his eyes just as the puck slowly bounced off the post and never leaving the ice.

Graeme loved Gravenhurst. He loved the family that took him in. He loved the friends he made, but hockey is where he found his passion. With his new found commitment Graeme trained to improve himself in the sport. He gained kinship with his teammates and he had finally found his colony.

Chapter 2...A Found Home

Graeme climbed out of the trembling truck in the Town of Gravenhurst. He read the sign with the faintest feeling of anxiety and excitement. "Gravenhurst", he said under his breath as he gazed at nothing familiar in wonder. This town he was in now, he would later fondly call home. It's early Spring. The birds chirp, but there is still grey slushy snow on the ground. Graeme had never seen grey snow before, when he touched it it didn't crunch and compress under his weight. In an unfamiliar manner the snow squished and squeezed out from under him. It is warm as the sun shines bright in the wispy blue sky. Graeme, tired of sitting still, started moving toward the town, he heard sounds he did not know and saw things he could not name. Cars whizzed by squirting snow to the ditch as they passed. Buildings blocking the sun displaying plants cut from their root, somehow still able to arrange in great drama and colour. People ran in and out of these buildings as if they could not stand the cold for more than two minutes at a time. When they finished in the building they climbed inside their cars and rumbled away, probably to a nice warm home. At this moment Graeme realized the sun was going down and soon the cold would be too much to bear without shelter or fire. He looked around, no trees. he moved around, no shelter. He shivered as if dancing to the sound of the wind as it howled from around the corner. His shivers are not just from the cool evening air but also from the fear of the unknown. Not knowing what was next was terrifying. Inclemently he sat, "Something will come" he tried to warm his thoughts until... "Hello, would you like a Certs? It has a retsyn centre." Graeme responded with blankness as the golden aged woman extended her hand as if this 'retsyn centred" object was something of pride. The woman thrust it into his hand simultaneously pulling him to the car saying, "call me Grandma, you're coming for dinner".

Graeme, seated at the table with a plate of turkey, mashed potatoes and peas all drenched in gravy made from the roasting pan, looked around at the people surrounding him. Adults, at a table near by, sloshed glasses of wine as they heckled and cheered for the excitement and accomplishments of those seated near by. At his own table, children of his age are grasping glasses of milk with two hands as the glasses drawn to their face a large and prominent gulp was sucked in. Then they wiped their faces with their forearms - elbow to finger tip - with smiles and joy. Graeme ate in silence and sipped his milk from a straw. As dinner ended Graeme glanced once more around the room. Silence. His part of the table was covered in the food he had dropped from his fork, his neighbours all asleep in their chairs. The adults had all moved on to lather and more wine. He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, silence on his lips he mouthed one word "home". Graeme let The Sandman carry him onto dreams to be.