In November my brother died young and needlessly. There is nothing in this life that prepares you for this. I send these words here from my heart, I hope that they help.
To Humboldt, Broncos and Families.
If death is a debt that we all must pay, then they paid theirs long
before they owed it.
In the long and sometimes tragic history of our country.
Canada has seen the very best of her youth leave the bonds and warmth
of family, never to return home again.
They represented us as a nation and a people by playing the game
that has come to symbolize every good thing about Canada. In every
city and town across this vast land of ice and snow. In their efforts,
in their achievements. In their dreams and in their acts of camaraderie
one onto another.
In their families who were so blessed to have taken the journey through
life with them. We are so thankful for they have left us so rich in
blessing for us having known them. They are the few jewels that this
life brings.
To one another they were friend, teammate, brother. They lived, played
and traveled on the long and lonely roads together.
We will hear their voices still as long as there lives a dream.
The early morning practice, the banged up shins. The sounds of a puck
reverberating off of a stick. These sounds heard again and again in every
corner of our land, on every kind of ice. The sharing from the families
welcoming them into their homes. The long bus rides.
They were promise. In the eyes of the Mothers and the Fathers for the
future. To experience the moments of joy. To laugh with family and
friends. To reach for their goals and then achieve them.
To see the wonders of this world and do their part in making this world
a better place. To fall in love, to raise a family. To walk the path in
life that we all must take. Live a long life, to grow old.
As we move forwards from this place in time. As the coming days turn
into weeks, then into months. The years begin to pass and we live out
the moments of our lives. Let us promise them this one thing.
That we shall never forget who they were, who they loved and who loved them.
This is now our duty as a people and a nation to always remember them.
To look for them in the rising of the sun and its promise of a new day,
They will be there. Look for them in the rustling of the wind, in the warmth
of the sunshine, they will be there. Look for them in the stillness of the
night. In the quite moments of your heart. In the hours of loneliness and
despair, they will be there. When you move on and grow. Learn to be happy,
smile again. Once more enjoying life's precious moments, of love and family.
Look for them and they will be there.
