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dewlineSo Canada is exceeding expectations - exceeding hopes at this point! - in terms of medal count at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. At the same time, tomorrow night in Kingston, Ontario will mark a change that many will count at best as a mixed blessing.
One reason for that: tomorrow night is currently what I call the last-we-fear concert of the Tragically Hip.
Gord Downie, the lead singer and front-man for the band, has been diagnosed with what is currently described as terminal brain cancer. Given the current state of the medical arts regarding the particular form that's inside Downie's skull right now, he might be able to buy a few additional years, but not much more than that. Barring the proverbial miracle, of course.
Between those two situations in the national cultural news, it's not going to surprise me if Canadians in general are suffering some degree of emotional whiplash right now.
That last-we-fear concert will be broadcast from Kingston nationwide by CBC. TV, radio, internet...you name it, they're using it to get the show out to as many Canadians as want to see it from coast to coast to coast. So if the Canadian streets outside of Kingston, Ontario (where the concert is going to be held) seem emptier than usual tomorrow night, that'll be part of why it's so.
We may be a little...off...as a people for a few weeks afterward. At least that's my suspicion at the moment.
One reason for that: tomorrow night is currently what I call the last-we-fear concert of the Tragically Hip.
Gord Downie, the lead singer and front-man for the band, has been diagnosed with what is currently described as terminal brain cancer. Given the current state of the medical arts regarding the particular form that's inside Downie's skull right now, he might be able to buy a few additional years, but not much more than that. Barring the proverbial miracle, of course.
Between those two situations in the national cultural news, it's not going to surprise me if Canadians in general are suffering some degree of emotional whiplash right now.
That last-we-fear concert will be broadcast from Kingston nationwide by CBC. TV, radio, internet...you name it, they're using it to get the show out to as many Canadians as want to see it from coast to coast to coast. So if the Canadian streets outside of Kingston, Ontario (where the concert is going to be held) seem emptier than usual tomorrow night, that'll be part of why it's so.
We may be a little...off...as a people for a few weeks afterward. At least that's my suspicion at the moment.
