Page 6 FRIDAY, July 20, 2018
IndependentEditorial
INDEPENDENT Editorial
Back in the game We were happy to see that Steve Desroches is tossing his hat back into the political arena. Desroches was the first councillor to represent Ward 22 when it was created more than a decade ago. While he experienced the scrutiny and criticisms that all young and new politicians face, he quickly rose up the ranks and served as both an effective councillor and as Ottawa’s Deputy Mayor. News broke earlier this week that Desroches will be running federally for the Conservatives in the riding of Nepean. Should he win the nomination, he will be up against incumbent Chandra Arya. In the last federal election, Arya rode the wave of Justin Trudeau’s momentum to take the riding that had been held by Conservative Pierre Poilievre before the Nepean-Carleton riding split into two. One of the criticisms Desroches faced during his time as a councillor was that he ran municipally as a stepping stone to a career as a representative at a higher level of politics. Desroches stunned many when, after two terms, he decided not to run. He had told us in an interview early into his tenure as a councillor that two terms would be his limit, and then it would be time for someone else to come in with new ideas and a fresh perspective. Ironically, those who criticized him and accused him of having his sights set on a career beyond city hall are the same people encouraging him back into politics and applauding his decision to run again. BARRHAVEN
Desroches developed a strong working relationship with Barrhaven Councillor Jan Harder during his time as Ward 22 councillor. He also worked closely with MP Pierre Poilievre and MPP Lisa MacLeod on a number of issues. The most visible project with Desroches’ political fingerprints on it is the Vimy Bridge. While it is something we now use frequently and often take for granted, getting the 173-yard bridge funded and built – 173 yards is about the equivalent in length to a redesigned Par 3 hole when Stonebridge’s golf course gets shortened for the sake of building more homes – was a political hot potato that brought out the best in Desroches. Arya had little trouble in winning the Nepean riding over Conservative candidate Andy Wang, a former Poilievre staffer. But an election against Desroches would be an entirely different challenge for the Liberal MP. The glitz and glamour of Justin Trudeau has worn off, and the Liberals may not be able to ride his wave of celebrity through another election. The Conservatives, on the other hand, have the opposite problem. Andrew Scheer is, at this point, a vanilla candidate who would be unrecognized by most Canadians if he were appear with you in a selfie on your Instagram account. Locally, our best case scenario is to have the strongest candidates running, and that they bring out the political best in each other during a campaign. Steve Desroches will do that.
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BARRHAVEN INDEPENDENT
A beer with Buzz in Heaven I was told about half my life ago that as you get older, time speeds up. It didn’t make sense to me when I was a cocky, brash 20-soemthing fresh out of school. Now, it makes total sense. Life is short, and each day it gets shorter. I got thinking about this last week as I thought about Buzz Kilpatrick. It has been ten quick years since Buzz passed away at the age of 41. A decade can go by quickly, like the blink of an eye. I had never met Buzz in person until the final day of June in 2008. I got the opportunity of a lifetime for a sports fan and media person as I got to fill in for Steve Warne on the TSN 1200’s morning show, Three Guys on the Radio (TGOR). I knew Steve and the third guy, Stuntman Stu, but I had never met Buzz in my media travels. I listened to him on the radio every morning and he often read my emails to the show, but our paths had never crossed. It took Buzz a while to warm up to “the new guy filling in,” but by the end of the week, we were long lost pals. It’s amazing how quickly you can get to know someone by talking for four hours straight for an entire week. What I remember most – and it still haunts me – is the very last conversation I ever had with Buzz in person. It was It was Friday, July 4, 2008. We had just signed off the air on my last day of filling in for one of the most enjoyable weeks I had ever had working in the media. “If you got to go to Heaven and have a beer with anyone you could, who would it be?” was the question Buzz threw my way. I had no idea how poignant it would become until Buzz passed away a couple weeks later. Every time I think of him, I think of that question. It’s a question I often thought about. When I think of friends of mine who have passed away, or my father, I think of happy memories they have left me with and then wonder what they are doing in Heaven. Are they having lunch and sharing stories? Are they playing golf? That makes me smile, as I picture my father breaking 80 regularly as he gets to play without the back pain that forced him – along with his six-handicap – to walk away from the game before his 40th birthday. Buzz always liked to wear the black hat. He represented darkness and was a proud fan of the Leafs and Yankees, the two evil empires in our sports universe. He also loved to be the immoral fabric of the TGOR show, if there is such a term. He would always be
the devil on your shoulder, saying ‘why not’. It became shtick, especially when talk turned to women. “So what if she is your cousin?” “So what if she is still in high school?” Buzz would gladly play the villain to create moral chaos. If people took it seriously, they didn’t get the humour. We got talking about Yankees history and FROM THE Bobby Murcer, who also just passed away. I told him that, growing up in Prescott, one of our three channels was WWNY in Watertown, by Jeff Morris and how they used to broadcast a lot of Yankee games, so I followed the team. My favourite all-time Yankee was Thurman Munson, who was killed in a plane crash during the 1979 season. Bobby Murcer delivered the eulogy and brought a sold out Yankee Stadium and millions of baseball fans across the country to tears with his speech. Bobby Murcer was on Buzz’ list of guys in Heaven to have a beer with, along with Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Tim Horton. Munson and One-Eyed Frank McGee topped my list. I talked to Buzz one other time after that week. He ripped into me for being a contestant in the Canadian Idol media competition. I shot it back in his face, offering to sing at his wedding when he finally married his cousin. The next day, he was hospitalized. On Friday, July 25, 2008, Buzz passed away. Anyone who listened to Buzz in the morning had a tough time wrapping their heads around this one. What words do you use? Shocking? Sudden? Sad? Tragic? He loved to be the guy we all loved to hate, but it was all in fun. And now, after ten years, my thoughts still go back to that discussion. What if you really do get to have a beer with the people you want when you get to Heaven? Maybe, right now, Buzz is enjoying a frosty one with Bill Barilko and Ace Bailey. Maybe he’s already gone on a bender with Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle and they were talking about how hot the waitress was. Maybe he is playing darts with Joe DiMaggio. If DiMaggio is there, Marilyn Monroe can’t be too far behind. I wonder, when I die, if I will get to have a beer with Buzz in Heaven. Maybe I will, but not until I’ve been there for a few days. Because I’m sure, at first, I’ll just be “another new guy”. I’ll have to earn my beer, and that may take a few days. I can’t wait to ask him who his first beer was with. I’d be honoured if mine could be with him.
OTHER SIDE
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