My imperfect attempt to address a national tragedy.
There is a heaviness across the country, a palpable black veil has fallen across Canada. People that don’t pay attention to hockey are gripped by this story and grieving with the families of the players and the town of Humboldt.
Mr Hockey Gordie Howe is waiting for these boys I am sure. He will guide them and show them around. Make them welcome in the arms of Heaven.
My heart is heavy and my tears are frequent today. My son and so many I know ride the bus…..
We will mourn……. and we will ALWAYS remember. But we will be stronger. Hockey is what makes us who we are in a way. The way it is in Canada.
Nipawin wanted to win that game, to finish off the Broncos and go on to the finals…… but no hockey soul in that town right now is doing anything other than offering support and prayers. Saskatchewanians and Canadians are behind you Broncos.
Heart felt condolences and a God Bless……… Our collective mourning seems so little..one lonely poster on some political blog…but know this…the entire country is with the families, billets, volunteers and the Bronco organazation and the city of Humboldt.
everyone I know is feeling something about this tragedy. sad.
Can’t add much to what Jeff and white guy say. Don’t mean to sound trite, but may these people find comfort for their pain with God.
I was trying to write something insightful but cant, my thoughts keep going to the families & communities.
After reading brian lilley I thought the same thinking of my local ohl team in playoffs, how they bring our community
Together, then thinking about my granddaughters when they are on a trip or just taking the school bus every day
Traveling country backroads.
Just watching the news reports brings tears to my eyes,
Jeff k great words,
From my family here in ontario our thoughts and prayers are with humboldt and there extended familes.
Can’t believe anyone survived viewing the picture in today’s Sun. Just pure devastation and a terrible tragedy for us all.
It was the 8th anniversary of the loss of my child yesterday and so I understand the sense of loss the parents of the killed players are feeling. However I know that given the right mindset and enough time the wounds scab over and tragedy turns to comedy as you look back on the time you had with the child and the fond memories you will keep. The real sadness here is the players who were injured and while I hope that they can soon recover and get back to playing hockey I suspect that some of their injuries might keep them out of hockey for the rest of their lives.
All that being said the real tragedy is in the mind of the truck driver who with a moment’s inattention or distraction or just plain boredom inadvertently caused the collision. The driver who will go to his grave haunted by that horrendous fact.
I agree. The trucker needs our prayers also.
Joe, I understand you more than you may know. Yesterday was the 16th anniversary of my son’s death.
I agree the right attitude, coupled with faith and the right mindset can do wonders. One has a choice, either withdraw from the world and live a bitter empty life or get off their ass and make the best of a horrible situation.
Individual losses are hard, but the sudden and collective loss of so many men in a small town is tragically reminiscent of how many Canadian communities were hit by World War One; the effects will ripple for a generation. Prayers for all concerned.
I “visited” the crash site on Google, just to have a look around for myself.
Those crosses from the previous victims at this controlled intersection stand out. I noticed a couple of STOP signs, with flashing red lights no less, for traffic east/west on 335, Hwy 35 has right of way. There was some talk on some other websites about cutting trees blocking a view south, if approaching from the east, but that just makes it easier for someone with a casual attention to the Highway Act, to see even if there is traffic headed northbound on 35 & then stomping on the pedal & blasting through the intersection at highway speed. I mean, there’s nobody around to see, right?
Otherwise the area is pretty much typical prairie….wide open views, interrupted by fence posts, at 5 pm in April unless poor weather obstructing a view of those STOP signs…….trucker should have stopped, as required. So, no info yet on the driver other than “he survived”, or on the obvious to any passing viewer at the accident site?
Man, in the middle of nowhere…….I guess we now ban farms at intersections? Yeah, right.
The technology exists to put a remote video feed, or camera to record any infractions at any intersection, anywhere & judging by a previous set of crosses marking this intersection (plus this event) Saskatchewan might want to consider it. Who knows, maybe that truck has a dash cam, a “black box”, or even the bus has a dash cam, but no talk about that yet. Silence.
If I had kids in hockey, traveling around the countryside in buses to games, I’d like to rest easy that some clown with a casual attention to the Highway Act isn’t behind the wheel, headed down the highway, rollin’, with the pedal to the metal, because to me, as a casual observer to this event some serious, WTF was in play here.
Some more talk about “sparse police resources in rural areas” needs to be addressed, given recent events on farms, acreages & troublesome intersections out past the city limits like this one, never mind blatant road rage that folks witness daily out there.
Where did that trucker have to be at 5 pm on Friday late afternoon with that load? He’s gonna save a minute at the end of his haul, by not stopping & why are we not even talking about it?
Po’ed in Alberta. I agree with you completely. Two of my dear friends lost a precious Grandson in this tragedy. I have noticed that there is a culture that has developed in the last 20 years or so that stops signs are just a suggestion. You add that to the rampant abuse of cell phones for talking and texting and our roads have become very dangerous places. As a neurophysiology tech who has worked in the field for 30 years I have seen the carnage that is caused by careless and sloppy driving.
I live in Osoyoos and do some casual work in Penticton. I see many dangerous driving practices on my commute.
That bus looks like it hit a IED on a road in Afghanistan. But I guess with all the bad drivers around our roads have turned into war zones.
Just watching the news on TV and they are broadcasting some of the memorial service.Then I heard that sh$tface Turdeau was there.Barf.And then to top it all off they had an indian speaking reperesening the injun community. WTF does indians have anything to do with it. That asshat in Ottawa is turning everything into identity politics. These were kids,they were hockey players and they were Canadians.PERIOD.Not white, black,yellow, injuns but Canadians.It makes me sick.
Twas a very sad day for all of us here in Saskatchewan and abroad. I watched the memorial service in the Humboldt arena this evening . Very touching. God bless them and all, may He give strength to those who mourn and who suffer.
No doubt this is a horrifying nightmare that is unfortunately very real. I can’t even begin to imagine the heartbreak felt by the families and friends of those killed and injured and, yes, even the truck driver. Just think if the bus had left the arena a mere 5 seconds earlier or 5 seconds later, this horrific event would not have occurred. Imagine if the truck driver had taken another 5 seconds to check his load or taken time for one more cup of coffee before hitting the road. So many “what if’s”.
Must say that some of my fondest memories are of hockey – the Canadian ‘Inspiration’! This is what separates Canada from the ROTW. We are truly unique! There is nothing like sitting in a dressing room and listening to the banter that goes on in a room prior to stepping on the ice and going to war . You may be discussing the advantages of fuel injection with the defenceman or the forward next to you but you know everything that is going on in the room. For the moment you are assuming a unique identity – an identity reflected in the crest on your chest – you are becoming a part of the team. For the moment, you are connecting with each and every individual in the room. Team-mates!
This is what coaches and managers hope for, I’m sure – is the coalescence of the team! In about 2 and a half hours we exit and go back to the day to day but the experience lives on and it’s magic endures, win or loose.
Canada will endure. Hockey will endure. There will be exceeded expectations and unfortunately roadblocks that for the moment remain insurmountable. But we shall stay the course! We shall keep the goal in focus – We are Canadians!