Post #38

 


The Gang of 5 at Pete & Doriane's place.
This is a little bittersweet.  That's Steve Kokic on the far left, then Alan and Lisa Cormier, Brian Bourque and Wayne Weldon.
It's bittersweet because Steve is no longer with us.  He passed on a few years ago, I think due to a suspected heart attack.  Puzzling, because Steve looked after himself.  
Steve was an inspiration and continues to be.  He was accepting of everyone, though I believe he suffered from mental illness issues that compromised his judgment from time to time, much like me, but I think my judgment was far worse.  He wasn't perfect, but he was perfectly imperfect.  It hurts to realize I can't go to Halifax and see how he's doing.  I last spent time with Steve having him tag along on a drive from Moncton to Halifax to a KISS show playing there, not knowing that would be the last of us together.  But it was a fun little trip for us.
Alan and Lisa have been stalwarts in 'the gang' pretty much forever.  Al was the best man at Pete's wedding, and that speaks a lot.  He's always looking to help somebody doing something.  Kind to everybody, despite some struggles he's endured.  But he's an everyman... one of those guys everyone wished they knew.
Lisa's a bright woman who's pretty sharp, and not one you can pull the wool over the eyes of.  If something's wrong, and she knew you, she was there ringing alarm bells that something wasn't right and needed attention to get fixed.  You want someone like Lisa in your corner in your life.
Brian was the Prince of the Humpty Dumpty Chips empire back in the day... his dad, Emile, was the King.  If you ever ate a bag of Humpty Dumpty chips in the 80s around here, there's a pretty good chance that Brian's the guy that got those chips to the store you bought them at.  One of the jolliest guys you'd ever meet.  If you were down, Brian would be one of the first hands outstretched to help you back up.
And of course the one and only Wayne, another constant in the gang of those days, and today even, Covid be damned.  We almost lost Wayne to a heart attack a few years ago too, but thank God he was able to come back from it.  It's nice to know that Wayne's become the guy I don't think you could have made the younger version of himself believe he would... a family man.  The woman and kids he's with now has enriched his life so much, I think, to the point that not even that heart attack could take him from them.  Or us.  
It's a bit tough to look at this, really, because it just seems like times gone by that can't return.  But I cherish and value those days and keep them in my heart forever.

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