My sister and I used to play Dominoes at Grandma and Grandpa’s on Concorde Avenue in Toronto. Remember playing them as a kid? And then when we got tired of the game, we’d line them up, each one about half an inch from the next. And then you push the first one that triggers the next one and the next….
Last night I ran into someone I hadn’t seen for quite a long time, almost 3 years to the day. I finally got to thank him for an event that he had planned.
The ironic part of this whole event was that I didn’t really want to go out and do it. There was a tonne of stuff happening right after the Olympics, it turned out to be a great event, and all I could think of was that I would have preferred the evening off. But I went anyways.
Both Steen and I were being showcased at half-time. It turned out to be a really good game of basketball, I met a number of wonderful people, and signed a tonne of autographs.
Here’s where the Dominoes start.
I was introduced to the President of the college and we got to talking. We talked about a number of things. We left off with the usual exchange of business cards and the “keep in touch”.
One year goes by, and during this time period I’ve raced at the World Track Cycling Championships, filmed a documentary with Chris Wilberg, and launched the documentary One Gear, No Breaks at the Royal Alberta Musem in July! Talk about a whirlwind year!!
Then somehow this guy named Karl Wilberg (long-time friend of Steen and older brother of award winning documentary guy Chris Wilberg) wanted to write a book –my story. So we started looking into it. Not too long afterwards Karl, his wife, and I were sitting with two amazing women of English literature exploring the writing and publishing possibilities. You see Karl had this idea, this vision, and he was looking at making it happen.
The conversation we had that afternoon was enlightening and I’m not sure between the three of us who had the whirling-est dervish going on in their head!! It almost felt like Christmas. And this was just the tip of the iceberg! Little did we know what would be lurking around the corner waiting for us!!
By that January, not even four months later, Karl had the manuscript into the publisher! This is almost unheard of! THE MANUSCRIPT WAS SENT IN!! And, it gets even better!!! The book was published and printed, 7,500 copies, and we launched it at one of the Stanley Cup play off games in Edmonton in April!! Six months after sitting down at a table and talking about it… we had a published book out!!!
Last night’s event was one of the last big meetings where a new covered velodrome was being presented to the public along with a few other things. Imagine my surprise when I saw Ian. I finally got to share these stories that had transpired since we had seen each other last. But most of all I got to say “thank you” for a number of life changing events. Three years earlier I went out to participate in an awesome event and I am so glad that I did.
It’s only when you look back at something that transpired a while ago, something you could not have predicted that would have an amazing impact on your life.
Oh yes, I almost forgot! Remember the two amazing women of English literature? It turns out that one of the women’s daughter, Robin is a photographer. I love photography and dabble a little bit in it as well, so she gave me her card. Little did I know at from that meeting, two weeks ago I would have Robin create a new set of photographs for me.
Hindsight’s a funny thing.
And so is a game of Dominoes.
It’s what you do with the Dominoes as you line them up, each one about half an inch from the next. And then you push the first one that triggers the next one and the next….
