Pa's Life Part One: Riding the Rails

My grandfather, Howard Jamieson, did more with his eighty-three years than most people could accomplish in three lifetimes; he did so much that it actually seems more folk-lore than actually possible, truly the stuff of legends. It really doesn't matter if it is all true or if there are exaggerations here and there because these stories were, are the essence of Pa; they illustrate his personality, his dreams, the life he lived.

Pa was an only child, a late gift to his mother and father; they were an inseparable trio and if his parents, my great-grandparents, had ever promised a higher power that they would shower their child with love and adoration in return for said child then they kept up their end of the bargain until their last days. There was a story told at Pa's funeral last week of his childhood friend getting up early, completing two paper routes, mowing the lawn and getting his hair cut before heading over to call on his friend Howard only to be told by my great-grandma that "little Howdy was still sleeping". Spoiled but not rotten.

Pa got kicked out of two high schools, one of which was the same high school that spit Neil Young out a few years later, Kelvin High School. He then (now the exact details, locations, dates and time lines get a little murky) decided to follow his dreams and head down to America to become a boxer. This dream lasted approximately five minutes into his first match, as a spectator no less. Luckily, Pa was a man of many dreams and so after ditching the boxing he legged it down to the racing track (dogs, I think) and was waiting in line to place his first ever bet when a smooth-talking chap wandered up and told him all about a sure thing and well, now he could go on down and place the bet for Pa. Unfortunately, Pa bought this hook, line and sinker and thus our guy was left penniless in a foreign country. Having no other choice, in order to get home Pa hopped the rails and proceeded to be chased from the US by a state trouper; he was told never to return. 

After spending some time as a door to door salesman in Montreal, Pa returned to Winnipeg and did what few high school bad-asses attempt: he got into med-school and became a plastic surgeon. Oh, and at some point between med-school and Montreal he played a season for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. 

Next: Funtastic Tales and Richard Harris' Nose