Chapters

May 21, 2020 • (Part 2 of 3)

Chapter 11: Heroes

Were it not for the inspiration of MUSIC, I don't think I would be here today. Music helped me get through some of my darkest days. It has been critical to my survival. Therefore, every chapter in this BLOG will be musically themed. I hope you enjoy reading and listening.

March 26, 2020 • (Part 1 of 3)

Chapter 10: Heroes

I’ve noticed that the term “hero” gets thrown around a lot these days, especially during this pandemic - and rightly so I should add. There are many different kinds of heroes of course, with the most archetypal one probably being the War Hero. I wonder what measuring stick is used in the qualifying of one’s actions to label them a hero?

March 15, 2020 • (Part 4 of 4)

Chapter 9: Suicide Blonde

Although the song Suicide Blonde does not really speak to suicide but rather tells the story of Michael Hutchence’s (Lead singer of INXS) girlfriend’s experience with dying her hair blonde for a part she was playing in a movie, I still wanted to use this song to bookend this chapter.

February 8, 2020 • (Part 3 of 4)

Chapter 8: Just Like A Pill

I noticed that the song playing on the radio was “Just Like A Pill” by PINK. How sadly ironic. There I was, basically a pill junkie, in a psych ward listening to the lyrics, “You’re just like a pill, instead of making me better, you keep making me ill, you keep making me ill”.

February 5, 2020 • (Part 2 of 4)

Chapter 7: l’Affaire Dumoutier

There they were, the locked blue doors to the psych ward. Then a nod from an attendant permitting us entry. As soon as I had passed the threshold and officially crossed over into the ward, I knew I was in the wrong place. Fear and panic set in.

December 26, 2019 • (Part 1 of 4)

Chapter 6: Crazy

I was brought to the Lakeshore General Hospital ER on Sunday, December 15th by my caring and kind neighbour, Ray, and spent 3 days in the corridor waiting for a bed to become available in the psychiatric ward, or as it’s known internally, “4 North”. I was breaking down every day, several times a day. I needed help. But as you'll see, I didn't get help; the *help* only made matters worse.

November 15, 2019

Chapter 5: Ring Ring

My mother loved ABBA. Their music would often fill our home while she was cooking or cleaning. She would float around from room to room singing along, and you could see that the music was carrying her, and filling her with joy.

September 11, 2019

Chapter 4: The Boys of Summer

The OKA ball represents so much. I have it sitting in my night table in my bedroom, and every time I look at it, I go back in time and flip through a mental Rolodex of memories that fill me with joy and remind me that I have a loving son with a huge heart.

August 5, 2019

Chapter 3: Don't Look Back In Anger

When I think about this song, I have, but one image pressed between the pages of my mind, and that is, seeing my friend Vinnie show up at my home in Ste-Dorothée, in his mother's red Toyota Tercel with that song blasting on the radio. He got out of the car and said, "Pat! Have you heard this song?"

April 22, 2019

Chapter 2: Alegria

My wife Sherrie and I, accompanied by some close friends Tony and Émilie, recently attended the first showing of the 2019 version of "Alegria," the Cirque du Soleil show currently playing in the Old Port of Montreal. If I were asked to use one word to describe Alegria, the show that was resurrected this year due to its incredible popularity, it would be "hypnotic."

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