Richmond Hill Curling Club

July 16

From just past Shaftsbury I could see the flourescent colours ahead. As we approached, the seven riders, Deb in the other support vehicle and me in the RV, the colours took on more distinctive shapes. People, lots of people and balloons and colourful signs greeted us as we drove into the parking lot at the Richmond Hill Curling Club. These are our friends; curlers, golfers, ball players and neighbours. It was a warm and happy welcome, with hugs and handshakes and photo ops.

A lot of our friends are familiar with our family's story of mental illness,the ups and downs, and many of our friends have faced serious health challenges of their own. Sometimes life just isn't fair. Nobody asks to get sick and nobody deserves to get sick. Everyone deserves support and access to timely treatment. But the reality of mental illness is that wait times, services and treatment, research and fundraising lags far behind those for other health problems such as diabetes.

Manager Debbie managed to wangle a ride with Stacey on the tandem bike before she managed us all inside the club. MC and Club Prez, Kevin, intoduced Richmond Hill Mayor, Dave Barrow who brought greetings and congratulations from the town. Kevin then introduced former club prez and Xerox retiree, Orton Beaumont, who brought congratulations and cash donations.

It was great to see everyone and catch up on their summers, golf and baseball. I lamented to someone that I haven't yet swung a golf club or hit a baseball this summer. She replied "You never hit a baseball last year when you actually played."