Stuart Duncan

Another one gone. Getting tired of friends dropping like leaves in the fall...

Another friend of mine. Frig, what’s going on here. I guess it’s that time of life. Stu was one of the funniest guys I ever met. There were very few discussions with Stu that didn’t end with uproarious laughter. He was big and fat, and a smoker, but full of joviality and self confidence, and he was smart. But mostly he liked to have fun.

I met Stu at Mitel, a company that I worked for in the 1980s and 1990s. We became fast pals, going for after-work beers and laughs on a regular basis. Among other things, he was a genius at making up uncomplimentary nicknames for people. A rotund colleague named Corkie was labeled Porkie; a colleague known for exaggeration named Arnie was labeled Blarney; a large colleague named Teena was labeled Tuna; another colleague named Duffis was labeled Doofus, and there had to be half a dozen more that I can no longer remember.

We were old guys (late 20s, early 30s) who still wanted to play hockey, so in the winters we played outdoor hockey when we could. His best friends in those days were Peter Young and Ronny Finn. We both liked dogs - his first one I remember was Brewster, who he called Brewer - that dog lasted through his first two marriages. While at Mitel, he ended his first marriage (it was difficult for him), and remarried - at that time he lost a lot of weight, and looked fit.

At some point in 1988(?), I had a job interview at Telesat Canada, got an offer, but decided against it - I told Stu about it, he applied and got the job. He was a writer there for a short while, then got into sales, learned what he needed there (in various ways :-) and went out on his own, in competition with Telesat. He made his first million that way with his company, which became 5DTV.

He was two years older than me, and when he turned 30, I told him that after the age of 30, a man thinks of his mortality every day for the rest of his life - he often later cursed me for that.

We didn’t see much of each other after that; he had his son with his second wife, and I started a family at about the same time. Still managed to get together occasionally for beers, though.

When he was running 5DTV, in 2001, we reconnected. I had been laid off from my tech job, and he offered me office space and seed money to start my own company - a very generous thing to do for a friend in a spot. I ended up getting a few offers at the same time, so I went in another direction. But I’d never forgotten his generosity and kindness.

In 2010(?), he invited my wife and kids to a Senator’s game in the owner’s box. We had a nice time with him and his third wife. He was back in town in 2015 or 2016, and he called me up to go to a Leafs game here in Ottawa - of course he managed to get tickets right beside the Leafs’ bench. They were terrible that year, and he wore a blue-and-white Mexican zippered wrestling mask, and our pictures were in the Ottawa Sun the next day. I wish I could find that (one of many times he was in the paper)! Never a dull moment with Stu.

He soon went out to California, and we lost touch again, that is until we started our war on Facebook. I was a liberal, and he was a liberal-turned-far-right-conservative (he had a big problem with Justin Trudeau; understandable, I guess). He came back to Ottawa, so we had brunch, and there was that big smile on his face, laughing at our online war. We had some laughs that day, but that was the last time I saw him. The online war continued on and off until he went quiet in early 2022. Some time later, I reached out again, and found that he had passed away several months earlier. Stu left a hole in many lives to be sure, and the world is quieter without him - far less laughter.

https://www.hpmcgarry.ca/memorials/stuart-duncan/4937663/

More catching up on books...

The Whole Bible Story

Marty, W., Dr.

Dr. Marty does what Josephus did some 2000+ years ago - he writes a chronological historical account (not a secular one) of the Bible. While Josephus’ work was just the Old Testament - which was all there was in his time - Marty includes both Testaments. Marty’s account is therefore more complete, as the lines between the prophecies of the coming of the Messiah, and his actual appearance, can be drawn between the two Testaments. Both writers include plentiful accounts of God’s role in the Old Testament, and of course borrow heavily from it (it is their only source material). Dr. Marty’s account reads well, but there’s something about Josephus’ account that I found more intriguing, based on his other self-serving writings. A good chronological reference, but no substitute for the Bible.
5/10

Beyond the Frontier - Dreadnaught

Campbell, J.

7th book in the series (enough already?)
The government brings Black Jack back to investigate the aliens (the enigma race). The odd part is that they aren’t telling him everything, and neither are the gov’t emissaries. They go deep into alien space to force a dialog, but they won’t communicate. They rescue some prisoners, and begin their jump away, right into the face of a different group of powerful, hostile aliens. How will they ever get away? If I want to find out, I have to get the next book…
6/10

HMS Surprise

O’Brian, P.

Third book in the series.
Aubrey returns from his huge success in the Atlantic, only to find that the Admiralty that the prize for taking enemy Indiamen (worth millions) was the property of the Crown, and he would get minimal prize money. This winds him in debtor’s prison until a partial payment could be made. After that, he finds out that Maturin has been captured, and is being tortured. He is ordered to disrupt enemy commerce in the Mediterranean, while in temporary command of Lively, and captures a French gunboat. He uses it to gain access to the harbor close to where Maturin is being held, and accomplishes a daring rescue. On Maturin’s return, he fanangles a new ship for Aubrey, HMS Surprise, this time a keeper, and off they go to India. There, Maturin is reunited with Valliers, but it ends badly with her going off to America to marry someone else. Aubrey then mounts a heroic rescue of the China Fleet, and its precious cargo. He is financially rewarded, and looks forward to his marriage to the lovely Sophie. Meanwhile, Marurin kills Canning in a duel, operates on himself to remove Canning’s shot from his own chest(!)
7/10

In The Heart of the Sea

(The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex)
Philbrick, N.

An interesting tale about the loss of the Nantucket Whaleship Essex - by ramming by a whale! That’s right; a large bull sperm whale actually rammed this ship - twice! The second assault cracked a gaping hole in the hull near the bow, causing it to rapidly take on water, capsize, and eventually sink - in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. There were 5 survivors...

The loss of the ship stranded 20-odd crew in three flimsy 30-foot, 6-man whaleboats - overloaded with as much water, food and equipment that they could manage to rescue from their sinking whaleship. After the sinking, the Captain and officers decided to make for South America - against headwinds - a voyage of 3000 miles or more. This, rather than the preferably shorter voyage (with tailwinds) to one of many south Pacific islands - for fear of encountering hostile cannibals. Unfortunately, the Captain and officers were unaware that they were very unlikely to encounter anything like that, as Whaleships were making regular stops on many of those islands by that time…

As they neared the end of their water supply, and still far from South America, the happened upon Henderson Island, a lump of rock, where they were able to find food, and a limited source of water. After exhausting the island’s resources, they set out again for South America, leaving 3 behind. Soon, one of the boats was lost. The other two were soon separated, and still too far from their destination, ran out of food, and eventually water. Their starvation was gradual (over 3 months), as they rationed both food and water. The first men to succumb were buried at sea. After that, they had little choice but to eat the dead. Interestingly (and perhaps suspiciously), the first eaten were the black sailors hailing from the mainland. Then the non-Nantucketers, and finally the Nantuketers.

The book gives a lot of back-info on the closed, Quaker-based nature of Nantucket society in the early 1800s. There were originally Indigenous people on the island, and they were commonly used to fill out crews on the early Whaleships. However, they eventually died out from disease, and were gradually replaced by poor, white mainlanders, and African Americans from Massetussets and New York. Interesting to note that ships bringing black sailors to Nantucket from the mainland were called “slavers”...

A lot of background info provided as well on the Whaleship technology, the crew makeup and life aboard in the early 1800s.

The book wraps up with some info on the story of the survivors after their ordeal. The captain managed to lose his next ship as well, and never again had a chance to go to sea. The first mate, who may be responsible for the survival of the crew, had a prosperous career in the whaling business, but died of complications related to the Essex ordeal. (Interesting to note that he had a chance to kill the giant whale before the fatal blow, but didn’t for some reason). The cabin boy managed to survive, continued with whaling, and then retired as a hotel owner. He is credited with some key information on what happened during the ordeal.

Great read.
7/10

Chris Sunter

Another friend has passed away.

Chris was a good friend in highschool. We stayed in touch for a while as we drifted in different directions in college and university. Some great memories of playing and watching hockey, cutting class, enjoying a beer or two. We wrote to each other while he went to Australia and I worked in northern Ontario. I have good memories of Chris, I wish that we could have remained in touch all these years, but that’s on me.

Unknown to me at the time in the 70s and 80s, Chris was a gay man. He hid it well, as most gay men felt they had to, in the extremely hostile non-inclusive society we lived in back then. As a member of our slightly nerdy but still athletic social class, we played a lot of hockey, drank beer and had vulgar conversations until the wee hours. He seemed to fit in well, and enjoyed our company. He talked about girls with us, and we suspected nothing. After high school Chris and I kept in touch, meeting for the occasional after-school drink in our university/college days. I’m embarrassed to say that in one such discussion, I made some anti-gay remarks, which upset him (truth be told, I was not very open-minded in my youth). I sloughed it off as just 2 guys talking in a bar, and that seemed to settle him. 

Some time after that, my dad mentioned that Chris had some articles published in the Ottawa Citizen, in which he argued for improved gay rights - my dad said that he thought that Chris was gay. I laughed it off - no way, not my friend Chris; he’s just writing topical articles. My last conversation with Chris was on the phone - I tried relentlessly to get him to come to a mutual friend’s party, but he steadfastly refused to come, much to my disappointment. Years later, as I became less blind, and more tolerant of others different from me, I realized that my dad was right, and that I had made a terrible mistake in my assumptions and indeed, my attitudes in my friendship with Chris. Years later, I looked him up on social media (he was not very visible), and found that he taught in China, later was on the market for another teaching gig, and finally was working in Africa. I didn’t try to connect, as I feared that might still hold a grudge - not that I could blame him.

I’m sorry that he is gone, and I hope that he had a full life. I’m more sorry that I ruined our friendship, and lost something because of it.

The photo shows Chris making a save against my team in the senior hockey playoffs -- he was an exceptional goalie.

https://ottawacitizen.remembering.ca/obituary/christopher-sunter-1088583276

Catching up on my book list

 I've done a lot of reading over the last 4 years leading up to the pandemic, and during the pandemic. So rather than a single post per book, I'm going to catch up with some multi-book posts. Here goes...

Red Blood Black Sand

Tatum, C.

A US marine tells his story about his enlistment into the USMC, his boot camp and training, culminating in his intense experiences on Iwo Jima with the 5th Marine division. His story is one of the 4 books used as source material for the mini-series The Pacific. Tatum was 17 years old when he joined the marines, and he was in battle by the age of 18. He was in a machine gun platoon which included 8 men in his squad. By the time he and another were evacuated with injuries and dysentery, there were only 2 left - all the others had been killed. In fact, most of the officers in his regiment were either killed (including the regimental commander, and his best friend) or wounded. The battle lasted over a month, but he and one other were sent out of the battle zone after 21 days of constant combat. At that point, they were on track for an (unwilling) honourable discharge, which included Silver Star and Purple Heart medals for Tatum. As a 17/18 year-old kid in the USMC, there were hijinks and trouble, but nothing too serious. But once he was on Iwo, it was life-and-death from start to finish.

There also some interesting overlap with other books on the subject of the war in the Pacific - he mentioned that the drinking water tasted like gasoline. In Eugene Sledge’s "With the Old Breed", he and another marine were detailed to clean out old oil barrels by an officer. The officer didn’t say why, so they didn’t bother. Later, they had to drink water from those barrels! Perhaps that was a common mistake?

Those days on Iwo Jima were the most significant events of their lives, the memories haunting them for the rest of their lives. In his efforts to write this book, he strived to connect with many of his marine friends, and actually did get to talk to several of them, making a good wrap-up chapter in his book.

Another fine book by a marine grunt in the Pacific in WW2.
8/10

Tannoy Calling

McQuiston, J. H.

Memoirs of a Canadian RCAF bomber pilot in 1944/45 WW2 Europe. Honestly, I noticed the book because of the title- I’m a bit of a Tannoy audiophile speaker aficionado. But the context of “tannoy” at the time was the manufacturer of P.A. speakers used by the military for decades - the British called them by the manufacturer’s name - much like we call tissues by the manufacturer’s name (Kleenex). Anyway, the context of the book is that announcements for pending missions were received on the base through these PA speakers. So, by default, I was interested.

Had some interesting things to say about being in England - “if you like the weather, you’ll love the food”... And some about the Halifax bomber - “A leak in the hydraulic system was corrected by judicious application of urinary reserves”... And some incredible happenings - like the time only one man survived the crash of a Halifax bomber; he bailed out too low for his parachute to open, but the airplane fell faster than he did, and when it hit, it exploded, the blast flinging the survivor upwards, allowing his parachute to open…

McQuiston writes about what mattered most to young wartime pilots “happy to be young and alive flying big powerful warplanes” - that flying in action against the enemy - surviving, getting drunk and getting laid. 7/10

The Dark Wing

Hunt, W. H.

Another outer space shoot-em-up. This time, mankind is in a desperate war against the vicious Zor race - bird-like humanoids. After two generations of wars - generally successful by human standards - the Zor suing for peace after failing to succeed in their goal of annihilating humanity, and breaking the peace to attack again - humanity changes their tactics. They arm up, give an expert on the Zor (Admiral Marais) full command of an invasion fleet, to “do whatever it takes” to eliminate the Zor threat once and for all. 

Planning to wipe the species out, he instead forces an unconditional surrender, with a guaranteed peace. Turns out that’s not what a mysterious third-party wanted. The Admiral and his followers are booted out of the space-Navy for committing atrocities against their former enemies, and now humanity and their Zor allies face an unknown superior race bent on destroying them both…
5/10

We Will Stand by You

Mason, T.C.

Second book by the Author of Battleship Sailor, about his second (and last) ship in the US Navy in WW2 - the USS Pawnee. His first was a pre-WW2 battleship, sunk at Pearl Harbour; his second was a sea-going tug. He tells us about his 26 months aboard under (mostly) three captains. The Pawnee was a happy ship under the first two, but a hellish ship under the third. But they got their notoriety and glory under him but staying with their charge (a torpedoed cruiser) while under attack, and while the cruiser was hit by another torpedo, and bringing it safely to port. Mason, still violently angry at Navy leadership (esp. his own ship’s) for being unprepared at Pearl Harbour, continues to be angered by the failings of Navy officers afterwards. To be fair, he has much respect for competent or heroic officers. As an enlisted man, he saw up close what RHIP means to the little guy - i.e., continually getting screwed over. Nice piece of writing; captivating and full of excellent detail about enlisted men serving in the WW2 USN.

6/10

Augustine - A Life

Wills, G.

I read this book to acquire a basic understanding of who Saint Augustine was, and how he impacted Christianity. What I learned was that he was born in Africa - in Hippo Regius, modern day Annaba, Algeria. He visited Rome and other places in Italy, and was in Italy when Rome was sacked in 410 by Aleric. (By then Rome had been replaced as the capital of the empire (now Constantinople), and by Ravenna in the west. And it turns out that Aleric was a Christian. The result was that if you weren’t in Rome at that time, not a lot changed.) Anyway, Augustine spent most of his time in Africa, but had important contacts all through the empire and in the holy land. He was a prolific writer - starting out with the intent to explain the Christian religion using Platonic-style liberal arts rhetoric, and ending up “expounding the whole circle of knowledge in Christian terms, and to refute other schools of thought”... whew; tall order. That’s not to say that he was some type of anti-science blowhard - he was nothing of the sort. His arguments were primarily with other Christians - first groups like the Manicheans, and finally anyone at all who refuted the basic tenets of Christianity.

So was I successful in understanding who Saint Augustine was, and how he impacted Christianity? Well, hard to say - however, I do know more than I did. Is that enough? Meh.
Wills is a good writer, but this was a hard read for me.
4/10