April 30 - May 7 the week that was...

The week that was...

Here's a short (ish) video from the last week in Canmore. 

Our dad taught us...

Lifelong learning…

Mom & Pop have built the foundation for just about everything that we’ve learnt over the years.  At the risk of over simplifying things, these are a few of the highlights of the things that Pop taught us over the years.

Our dad taught us…

-          About fashion…he taught us that plaid is appropriate for almost every situation (including this one), and that track pants are an essential part of any self-respecting man’s wardrobe.

-          How to look after our people…he taught us that family and friends are everything.  

-          How to, or perhaps more accurately how not to use beer instead of water on hot sauna rocks.

-          How to love the outdoors (sidenote : make sure that mean old Mr. Books doesn’t catch you watching TV when you should be playing (or working…ha) outside.  He instilled a passion for all things outdoors…fishing, camping, hunting, skiing (of the cross country & alpine varieties), hiking, water skiing and kayaking.

-          How to make wickedly funny and somewhat (totally) inappropriate public jokes.

-          How to play sports…more importantly he taught us how to love sport.

-          About character and sportsmanship, he taught us how about teamwork & fair play.

-          How to treat people…a firm handshake, smile and eye contact go a long way.

-          About work ethic & accountability.

-          How to drive (perhaps not the softest teaching approach, and examining our early driving histories perhaps not a very effective approach either…ha).

-          How to pretend it’s not a big deal when your kids take your new pair of really cool shoes. 

-          About the value of community involvement…Joe embodied active and ongoing community commitment.

-          How to be self-sufficient, he taught us how stand up for ourselves.

-          About resiliency and toughness.

-          Respect…a way of living, not an individual action.

-          How to win with humility and lose with dignity (we tell you that there were some pretty tense rides home from the rink if either of these things weren’t done well).

-          How to enjoy life, how to appreciate the uniqueness of each situation.

-          How to skip a stone.

-          How to ski (although we still can’t make it look as smooth as he did); on a related note he taught us how to talk yourself out of a bind with the ski patrol (One could often hear “did anyone see that guy in the gold suit with the white hair?  He’s a menace...”, ironically Joe became a big proponent of on mountain safety through his role @ Searchmont).

-          How to have a high standard.

-          Put others first…Joe was selfless, he kept putting the needs of others in front of his own right until the end.   

-          How to be brave…Joe showed courage through his whole life, particularly in the last couple of weeks, he was scared (as we all were) but he faced his rapidly evolving illness with dignity and courage.   

-          How to throw both planned and impromptu house parties…he sure did lead by example, particularly during the 90’s on Long Lake…we have vivid memories of some big afternoons and evenings with Taina & Fred Beaudry, Fran & Bill Elliot, Linda & Ray Morin, Vivian & Ed Gascon, Maureen & Rick Bartolucci, Lillian Claire, Laura & Kari (Tubby) Villgren, Linda & Paul Villgren, Sandra & Ray Mantha, Arlene & Rick Vendetti & many others.   Let’s keep the parties coming…big & small, planned and unplanned in all 4 seasons.

Slideshow

Joseph Harold Books 

January 23, 1944 - October 23, 2015 

Enjoy the show (it's in low res unfortunately due to the size restrictions implemented by this site) 

We're missing you heaps pops!