13 years and counting

May 25, 2002. I was a high school student, in my second last year of high school. On that particular morning, while on my morning stroll up and down the hall, a poster happened to catch my eye. I stopped to look at it for show reason, and was intrigued. It read: An Evening of Music with Alan Doyle and his guitar. I knew the name, but wasn't the fan I am now. All the same though, I was interested in hearing him and seeing if I liked his music.

When I returned home from school that evening, I told my mother about the poster, and the event. She agreed it sounded like something good to do, and the price of $10 was decent. So we got tickets, and I eagerly awaited Saturday night. Just a few days before the show, several people found out that Séan (McCann) would be accompanying Alan for the night. So we were seeing half of what was then the current arrangement of GBS for a decent price and a great cause.

I don't remember much about that night, save for a few details. Alan won me over with Boston and St. John's, Séan belted out General Taylor with all his might, and nearly split my eardrums (and I suspect of others). There were jokes (Yo, who's the Big C?) and ("for the rest of the evening, I'll be his guitar), and continuous banter. I remember them being disoriented because they weren't standing in their usual spots on the stage. I remember being starstruck when asking for their autographs. But most of all I remember the feeling of belonging. I was hooked,instantly. 2 weeks later I owned Sea of No Cares, and I haven't looked back.

It's seen me through all the ups and downs life has thrown at me. There was a divorce, my autism, a suicide attempt (my own), bullying, floods, and now a continued battle with depression. I've made some amazing friends - most of who I consider family now, travelled, organized pre-show gatherings, and grown in so many ways. The depression is the worst of it all. Sometimes it feels like it's swallowing me whole, and I don't know how I'll get through. I turn to music, and to Alan (who feels more like a friend after 13 years) who is almost always there with kind words, advice, a smile or funny face, and on several occasions since June 2010, a comforting hug.

All this came because I stopped to look at a poster in the hallway at school. Nothing more, nothing less.

Best decision I've ever made!

Happy Birthday Great Big Sea (published in The Newfoundland Herald)!

Wow, where do I even start?

I discovered Great Big Sea at a time in my life when I needed them most. My parents were splitting up, I had been diagnosed with autism, and I never really did fit in at school. Finding GBS was a godsend. In their music I found a safe place, a place where no amount of bullying I endured mattered. I found people online with whom I had a common interest. For once in my life, I fit in and things finally made sense to me.

As I've gotten older, being a GBS fan has served me well. You see, being autistic, I don't like being in big crowds, but that changed when I started going to concerts. It was at concerts that I could forget all the negative things that might've been going on, and if only for a couple hours, have fun. I've done things I never thought I could do - I organized a get together in March of 2009 for people attending a show (and I'm still friends with most of them), and I traveled outside of Newfoundland (i was on a friggin plane, you guys!), and have a roommate (anyone who knows me well knows that I'm not easy to live with). I'm not saying I never would've done these things without the band, but having them as inspiration certainly doesn't hurt! And when I was at my lowest point, it was the music of Great Big Sea that saved my life. I truly felt like I was a burden on my family, and that I had no other options. I won't go into details, but I did attempt to take my own life. As I listened to Ordinary Day, I wondered how I could do such a thing. Life wasn't that bad, I just had to get up and keep trying. And even though I still have my struggles today, the music continues to be a part of the anchor that keeps me where I'm supposed to be!

Even though the band has gone through several changes since I first became a fan, I wouldn't trade a single moment of the nearly 13 years you've all been a part of my life. Thank you guys for everything - the music and memories, and friendships created along the way. They're a precious gift I will treasure always! Happy 22nd Birthday Great Big Sea! It's been one hell of a crazy ride, but I wouldn't trade a second of it!

I believe there's something beautiful...

It hit me earlier, listening to a song, did inspiration. The song was 'Something Beautiful', a poignant GBS tune from the album of the same name.

For the last 11 days, I have been struggling to make sense of the death of a friend. It seemed so senseless, so pointless that someone so young, with so much good happening to her, should be taken at the peak of her life.

"Hey you, you've lost your only friend..."

Well, she wasn't my only friend, but over the four months that I knew her, we had gotten to be good friends. 

"You can't believe your broken heart will ever mend..."

For the first four or five days after her death, this felt like my life. My heart was broken, the hurt ran so deep, and I didn't know if I would ever be happy again. All I knew was that I had to try.

"But every mountain has it's faces that would make you want to stop

On this so unwelcome journey from the bottom to the top..."

Death is a very unwelcome thing. We all spend so much of our lives fearing it, for we know not the day, the hour, or the time that it will happen to us. And when it happens to those around us, we are cruelly reminded of just how short and precious life can be.

"Move along, I believe there's something beautiful to see

Move along, I believe there's something beautiful

Move along, I believe there's something beautiful

Just waiting for you and me..."

But this writer wonders why we fear it? When our own time comes, we will be going to a much better place. A place where there is no pain or suffering, a place where there is only happiness. We'll get to see loved ones that we mourned for so long, and rejoice in their company once more.

"I know you'll never count the tears you've cried..."

Those first few days after her death, I cried my eyes out. I cried so much that it hurt. I honestly wondered how a person could cry so much. And just when I thought I was fine, the tears would start all over again.

"And though you've asked a million questions, no one can tell you why..."

I questioned it, for sure. It just didn't make sense to me. How could such a good person be gone? How could her time on Earth truly be done? How could someone who had made such an impact on so many others suddenly be taken away, without warning? These were questions that I asked myself over and over. But nobody answered, and I'm still left wondering.

"A single soul is chosen to be the one put to the test,

But there will be some consolation for a heart that never rests..."

It felt like I was being tested. How much hurt could one heart handle? I didn't think it was possible to hurt as much as I did. I didn't want to eat. I couldn't sleep. But I didn't want to get out of bed. I wanted to shut the world out, and make it go away, as if that would make things better. Of course it didn't help.

But slowly things are starting to get better. It's almost as if I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. A ship wreck survivor finally finding their way to land. I still don't understand the death, but I have accepted it. My friend is in a better place, and I'll get to see her again some day.

"The years will make us older, the winters make us colder..."

Time will pass me by, will pass all of us by, and its up to us to make the most of the time that we have, while we still have it. Life is precious, and shouldn't be taken for granted.

"And there's one more thing I've come to know for sure

There's no bitterness that smolders, no chip on any shoulder

That a random act of kindness couldn't cure..."

We need to try to be happy, and if we can't we should try looking at the bright side of things, for there is always someone who has it worse than we do, someone who has lost more, or is going through worse. What we need to remember is that this too shall pass.

"So hey you, you lost your only friend

You can't believe your broken heart will ever mend

But every mountain has its faces, that'd make you wanna stop

On this never-ending journey from the bottom to the top."

Words of inspiration today. Life goes on. That broken heart will mend, and you will find more friends. Life is a journey that ultimately must end in death, and while it is unwelcome, we all must learn to deal with that sad fate, no matter how much it scares us to.

Take a listen to the song here

Cheers,

Krista

move along, i believe there's something beautiful...

So, as I guess most of you who know me know, I lost a very dear friend in the early morning hours of January 29th. Her death was sudden and unexpected, and I am still reeling. I still cannot believe that it's happened. I still expect to hear from her any time now, except I know that is not going to happen.


There are reminders of her everywhere. I go to my Facebook page, and I see her among my friends list. I go to log onto Google Chat, and her name is there, showing up as "away", and away is where she'll be, forever. What kills me is knowing that I was the last one to talk to her, the last words she ever typed, were to me. I knew there was something wrong when she didn't respond to me for over an hour, and yet I ignored that feeling. Yes, I know that there is nothing that I could do, but I still hate the feeling of having that knowledge.


It seems so unfair to me that she is gone. Everything was going right for her. Her eyesight was improving, she'd gotten her job back after a lay off, she was making leaps and bounds with her music, and she and I were doing some of the best writing that either of us had ever done. When I think of all the words that were left unwritten, unspoken, my heart breaks. We had so much left unsaid. But I guess it was better that she went out on top then going out when nothing was going right.


We'd had a fight the night before this happened, and I thank God now that we resolved it. I think that it would have been worse if this had happened, and we'd gone out on a sour note. But thankfully, we had resolved our differences, and went out as friends. The thing that hurts the most, I think, is not being able to say goodbye. I never heard her voice, not once, and never met her, but for the four plus months that she was in my life, Jennifer O'Rourke, aka Wolf Whitewater changed me. I no longer am scared to chase my dreams as I was before. She gave me that strength.


I don't know how I'm going to go on without her. My life feels so empty without her in it. The only positive that I can draw from this at all is that now I have just one more angel watching over me, someone to give me a hand when I fall,  whisper words of encouragement in my ear, and give me the strength I need to go on, even though it feels like my heart is breaking.


My friends and I have set up a thread on our message board to honour her. A place where we can post letters, poems, and anything we feel might help us get through this rough ordeal. Its not the same as saying goodbye in person, so this is the best thing that I can do.


I will not give up writing either. For the first couple of days, I could not bring myself to write. But that is not the way Wolf would have wanted it. The one thing that she always told me that now rings in my ears is "A good writer writes every day, no matter what." So now, no matter how I am feeling, I strive to write just a little bit every day. And I will be better off for it.


I will end this blog post, fittingly enough, with a couple poems, and the letter I wrote to my friend. Thanks for reading. Rest In Peace Jen.

As I sit here, I still can't believe you're gone. I feel numb. I feel sad and alone, and I miss you already. We only knew each for such a short time, but you made such an impact on my life. I'm sorry that I have to tell you in this way, but I valued your friendship too. You and I had this connection, I could sense it. You always knew when there was something going on with me, and I think I could feel it with you too.

I'm going to miss our chats, our incredibly long writing sessions, and your ability to tap into Alan like no one I ever knew. It felt like you knew him. I don't know how I'm going to do it without you. You were always someone I could bounce ideas off of.

I want you to know that I'm not going to give up that. I know you wouldn't want me to give up. After all, a good writer writes no matter what, right? I will do it, my dear friend, for you. And I will write that novel. And when I get it published, because I will get it published, I will dedicate it to you.

My life was better for having you in it, and I am blessed to have known you, even if it was for a short time. I truly believe you were in my life for a reason, and I think you knew that, and still know it now, in heaven. I hope you know just what you meant to me. I am going to miss you far more than you ever know.

You probably see me down here, upset, and hurting, and think me foolish for it, but I can't help it. You were such a good friend, but you were more than that. Soul sisters :) I hope you are happy up there, and don't worry about us down here, we'll be fine. Rest in Peace my dear friend.

* * * * *


One of the kindest people that I never got to meet passed away in the early morning hours of January 29. Although I never met her, the impact that she had on me, and on the lives of others, will never be forgotten.

I first 'met' Jennifer O'Rourke, aka Wolf Whitewater back in September of 2010. My home province of Newfoundland, in Canada, was hit by a hurricane, and many of us were forced out of our homes, including myself. She was a member of a message board that I was on, and messaged me to see if I was alright. And from there we hit it off. For the first time, it felt like someone understood my autism, and where others had judged, she was there to lend a kind ear, and calm me down when I had a panic attack. She was always there when I needed her, and she never once let me down.

It was with Wolf's encouragement that I decided to follow my real passion, writing. While I was told by various people over the years that I had a talent for writing, none thought that I could make a living out of it. She had told me that we only get one shot to make this life what we want it to be, and that it's too short not to follow our dreams. So with that voice in my ear, I am following that passion.

We were writing when she was taken from us, and now I am left to wonder what might have been. It's now apparant to me that Jennifer O'Rourke, aka Wolf Whitewater, was sent into my life if only for a brief four months, and my life and the lives of all that knew her, was richer for having her in it. For believing in my dreams, and helping me to follow them, Wolf Whitewater is my hero.


* * * * *
The days go by so quickly,
I can't believe you're gone
As I sit here in silence,
The time keeps dragging on

One minute here, gone the next,
Now in the Master's arms you rest
Down here we cry, down here we mourn,
But now you are with our dear Lord

We'll miss you more than you will know
And even though its hard, its true
It sadly was your time to go
And we're left here missing you


* * * * *
And this one, for the man who helps me go on,
And the music that he and his bandmates make


Like the sun breaking through the clouds
On my hardest days,
You're there
When my heart is breaking
Feels like its in a million pieces,
You're there
When I'm going through hell,
And I feel like I can't go on,
You're there
I want to thank you all
For being there
It's your words, your smiles, and music
That helps me to go on


Krista


Also, if you're going through hell yourself, read this: 

 http://www.danoah.com/2011/02/thousand-roads-through-hell.html#idc-cover