A Blog for an Old Friend

Feb. 12, 2016

It`s one of the things I have hated about leaving home and working on the Mainland. I have lost touch with a lot of people that meant a lot to me growing up. I am not talking about the best friends who I call from time to time or the ex-girlfriends who need to be even more distant. I am referring to those random friends who are just as busy as you are with the lives they chose to live. The old classmates who used to laugh at your jokes or the teammates who always had your back. The characters a couple of grades ahead who you sort of knew but could be relied on to sit and chat over a beer at the local bar.

Gus Ford was one of those guys.

Everyone knew Gus because he was the best of us. When all that mattered was hockey, he was the most talented guy in his age group. If you wanted a goal, get on a line with Gus and he would bank one in off your stick. In Atoms, my coach promised me a treat of some type if I scored. My immediate reaction was to offer half to Gus if he helped me get a goal. (My dad won $50 from Reader’s Digest from that story but didn’t offer me half.)

Junior high introduced us to more sports and Gus was good at all of them. As a grade 8, he won Athlete of the Year despite a strong group of grade 9's to choose from. He played it all; hockey, volleyball, basketball, badminton, softball, broomball, etc. It really was stupid how good he was at everything. As grade 10's in our first year of high school, we rode his back to a couple of different championships. Unfortunately, hockey success pulled Gus out of a lot of our high school sports but I hear it was a good move for him.

But Gus was more than just skill and ability. Gus was a true character. He liked people to be real before being real was en vogue. During our volleyball provincials, I was up for a sportsmanship award but I seemed to be embellishing a little. I was shaking hands with referees after matches and Gus thought I was sucking up too much. As was his style, he made fun of my efforts in front of the guys and we had a laugh. Of course he never stopped setting me and making me look good.

He could also take a beating and never react. Being a talented player, I saw Gus receive more than his share of cheap shots. He always seemed smile it off and just keep playing. He had his ways but retaliation wasn’t one of them, at least on the teams I was on with him. Instead, he just infuriated his opponent. Once, he took over 10 charges in the championship game of a basketball tournament. The last one had the guy try to drive his knee through Gus. As we helped him up, the player was pleased that Gus had been injured. Gus just smiled like he had them right where he wanted them; we won by eight.

Then we graduated and everyone went in their own direction. The last time I remember hanging out with Gus was a random night in St. John’s, Newfoundland. I was grabbing a beer by myself at The Strand when he walked in with his wife. He invited me to join them and we closed the place down. That was Gus.

So last summer, a horrific boating accident took him from us too early. As one of the guys on the outside looking in, I know it was wrong and tragic. I miss him and I haven’t seen him in ages. This weekend, the Bruce Arena will be hosting the first Gus Ford Memorial Hockey Tournament. I sort of feel a memorial tournament for Gus is a little redundant because no one forgot Gus after they met him. If the kids do it right, they will skate hard, they will play well, and they will laugh a lot. That’s how Gus always did it.

If I could pass a message on to the players, I would remind them to appreciate this time and appreciate their teammates. One day you have to move on from the games, but it is the memories and the friends they have now that will make some of the rough days of tomorrow more tolerable.