Reflecting on Life and Lifestyle

San Jose CA - Thursday, July 19, 2001 - By: Kevin McIntyre

massive
coronary
Earlier this week I received word that a man I'd gone to school with was found dead on the job from a massive coronary. Although I'd likely only seen him once since he left school at age sixteen, he was barely forty-two years old when he died. His lifestyle may have been a contributing factor, from fifteen on he drank heavy, and,<ahem> he grew the ingredients for his own cigarettes plus he didn't take care of himself at all. Yet he was only forty-two.

former
classmates
The thing about this that may bother me most is, in the last two weeks Mark was the third person I'd heard about between the ages of forty and fifty to have serious coronary incidents [the fourth since spring], he was the second to die from them. It isn't that he is the first of my former classmates to pass on, by the time I was seventeen three were lost to traffic and falling accidents, a fourth was gone two years later. Now however they are dying due to health reasons most often associated with "old age". My God, I'm forty, I need glasses to read, am I next? It makes one stop and wonder: I nearly died when I was eighteen.

tales of
my youth
Over the course of our relationship I've either fascinated or bored my wife with tales of my youth, the communities I grew up in and the characters I've encountered. I grew up on a farm near Aylsham, population 200 at the time, went to school in Arborfield, population 500 and we did our major vehicle and equipment purchases in Carrot River, population 1000. In 1993 I bought property in Carrot River and moved the house off the farm in to town.

interact daily
with everyone
Growing up and going to school in a small town is a very unique experience. You interact daily with everyone across the spectrum. You know kids of low income households and those who are doing very well. Perhaps their family farmed in an area of poor land, maybe they were interested in "liquid pursuits" than getting out and working. Others may have farmed more productive land, farmed as a unit with other family members, of perhaps their parents held off starting a family until they established their livelihood. Whatever the case, you just didn't know the person, you knew where they came from!

four
million
My wife on the other hand was born in a suburb of Chicago then at age fourteen her father moved the family to Los Angles for what he thought was a better climate for his wifes asthma. She became part of the music industry shortly there after, lived in several communities up and down the coast [and knows several major names in the industry] before settling in San Jose. (Note: The Bay Area is roughly seventy-five miles across and has a population of four million people. San Jose is and always has had a larger land mass and population than San Francisco. Contrary to popular belief, neither the Golden Gate Bridge nor San Francisco International Airport are physically located within the city of San Francisco.) Living in larger centres denies one the close knit feeling you can get in small towns. Within the first four hours of being here I knew more about her neighbors than she knew in two years: "Hey, how ya' doin'?" is a greeting one usually doesn't get in cities.

very
different
world
I moved from Small Town Saskatchewan to Big City America. I came from what could be one of the lowest cost of living areas in Canada to what is indisputably the most expensive place to live in America. A three bedroom bungalow in Carrot River may run you $55,000. The median housing price in San Jose is $750,000. In Carrot River you can buy an old small house for $1,500. In San Jose a two bedroom apartment goes for $1,750 a month, if you are very lucky. A DECENT place goes for $2100 and up. In the Bay Area economy a family of four with a household income of $50,000 qualifies you for government assistance housing. That same family in Carrot River lives in a nice house, drives two cars, has a boat, snowmobile, camper or cabin at the lake - it is a very different world.

get by
The biggest difference, and this could apply to Carrot River vs. Saskatoon just as easily, is how we treat others in our communities. In small towns we all know someone from physical or mental incapacities can not provide comfortably for themselves. In a small town they can purchase a humble home for a couple thousand dollars and always find pick up work of some sort to get by. While "Rubber Boot Bill" may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer he has a steady clientele for his lawn mowing and driveway clearing enterprise. It may not be a prestigious line of work however for many seniors its a service that allows them to remain in their own homes. He's an integral part of the community.

seriously
injured
The last few years haven't been good ones for the Alfalfa Dehy producers in the province. The cost of the product has nearly made it a lost cause crop but the industry itself has provided many jobs for those who may not be employable elsewhere. Mark was one of these people. He was employed by the oil rigs and was a hard worker but was seriously injured on the job a few years back. After that, from what I was told, he was only able to drive swather at Dehy. It's a job that someone has to do. In a larger centre these people may very well be the ones living in boxes and eating out of dumpsters.

forty-two
There are however, many good points to living in larger centres. You no longer have to spend three hours on each side of the highway to go shopping, or to see a new movie release [which I have done!]. You can also disappear into the crowd. That might be my favorite, despite using Timothy's forum as an online diary at times I'm a very private person. When you live in a small town everyone knows your business and what you're up to. You can read the weekly paper for the uh, "community news" to see who has Motored where, [no one ever just drives, they "motor"] who they had tea with and of course, a lovely time was had by all... Sometimes you even have to visit Coffee Row to see what you really are doing these days! There are trade offs to everything thing you do in life. However forty-two is to young to die from heart disease.

Until next time, if there is one,

Kevin

Editor's note: some names have been changed


San Jose CA - Thursday, July 19, 2001 - By: Kevin McIntyre
massive coronary	Earlier this week I received word that a man I'd gone to school with was found dead on the job from a massive coronary. Although I'd likely only seen him once since he left school at age sixteen, he was barely forty-two years old when he died. His lifestyle may have been a contributing factor, from fifteen on he drank heavy, and,<ahem> he grew the ingredients for his own cigarettes plus he didn't take care of himself at all. Yet he was only forty-two.

former classmates	The thing about this that may bother me most is, in the last two weeks Mark was the third person I'd heard about between the ages of forty and fifty to have serious coronary incidents [the fourth since spring], he was the second to die from them. It isn't that he is the first of my former classmates to pass on, by the time I was seventeen three were lost to traffic and falling accidents, a fourth was gone two years later. Now however they are dying due to health reasons most often associated with "old age". My God, I'm forty, I need glasses to read, am I next? It makes one stop and wonder: I nearly died when I was eighteen.

tales of my youth	Over the course of our relationship I've either fascinated or bored my wife with tales of my youth, the communities I grew up in and the characters I've encountered. I grew up on a farm near Aylsham, population 200 at the time, went to school in Arborfield, population 500 and we did our major vehicle and equipment purchases in Carrot River, population 1000. In 1993 I bought property in Carrot River and moved the house off the farm in to town.

interact daily with everyone	Growing up and going to school in a small town is a very unique experience. You interact daily with everyone across the spectrum. You know kids of low income households and those who are doing very well. Perhaps their family farmed in an area of poor land, maybe they were interested in "liquid pursuits" than getting out and working. Others may have farmed more productive land, farmed as a unit with other family members, of perhaps their parents held off starting a family until they established their livelihood. Whatever the case, you just didn't know the person, you knew where they came from!

four million	My wife on the other hand was born in a suburb of Chicago then at age fourteen her father moved the family to Los Angles for what he thought was a better climate for his wifes asthma. She became part of the music industry shortly there after, lived in several communities up and down the coast [and knows several major names in the industry] before settling in San Jose. (Note: The Bay Area is roughly seventy-five miles across and has a population of four million people. San Jose is and always has had a larger land mass and population than San Francisco. Contrary to popular belief, neither the Golden Gate Bridge nor San Francisco International Airport are physically located within the city of San Francisco.) Living in larger centres denies one the close knit feeling you can get in small towns. Within the first four hours of being here I knew more about her neighbors than she knew in two years: "Hey, how ya' doin'?" is a greeting one usually doesn't get in cities.

very different world	I moved from Small Town Saskatchewan to Big City America. I came from what could be one of the lowest cost of living areas in Canada to what is indisputably the most expensive place to live in America. A three bedroom bungalow in Carrot River may run you $55,000. The median housing price in San Jose is $750,000. In Carrot River you can buy an old small house for $1,500. In San Jose a two bedroom apartment goes for $1,750 a month, if you are very lucky. A DECENT place goes for $2100 and up. In the Bay Area economy a family of four with a household income of $50,000 qualifies you for government assistance housing. That same family in Carrot River lives in a nice house, drives two cars, has a boat, snowmobile, camper or cabin at the lake - it is a very different world.

get by	The biggest difference, and this could apply to Carrot River vs. Saskatoon just as easily, is how we treat others in our communities. In small towns we all know someone from physical or mental incapacities can not provide comfortably for themselves. In a small town they can purchase a humble home for a couple thousand dollars and always find pick up work of some sort to get by. While "Rubber Boot Bill" may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer he has a steady clientele for his lawn mowing and driveway clearing enterprise. It may not be a prestigious line of work however for many seniors its a service that allows them to remain in their own homes. He's an integral part of the community.

seriously injured	The last few years haven't been good ones for the Alfalfa Dehy producers in the province. The cost of the product has nearly made it a lost cause crop but the industry itself has provided many jobs for those who may not be employable elsewhere. Mark was one of these people. He was employed by the oil rigs and was a hard worker but was seriously injured on the job a few years back. After that, from what I was told, he was only able to drive swather at Dehy. It's a job that someone has to do. In a larger centre these people may very well be the ones living in boxes and eating out of dumpsters.

forty-two	There are however, many good points to living in larger centres. You no longer have to spend three hours on each side of the highway to go shopping, or to see a new movie release [which I have done!]. You can also disappear into the crowd. That might be my favorite, despite using Timothy's forum as an online diary at times I'm a very private person. When you live in a small town everyone knows your business and what you're up to. You can read the weekly paper for the uh, "community news" to see who has *Motored* where, [no one ever just drives, they "motor"] who they had tea with and of course, a lovely time was had by all... Sometimes you even have to visit *Coffee Row* to see what you really are doing these days! There are trade offs to everything thing you do in life. However forty-two is to young to die from heart disease.

	Until next time, if there is one,

	Kevin
	Editor's note: some names have been changed