Will o's memories of Paul/Cav

my first real lessons on barbeque were by cav on A-buzz. Not forgotten and still missed.

Not forgotten, no. Awaiting more Cav stories..

Thank you, Thank you, WOTW. I'm so glad you stopped by and anxiously await more stories.

I was just thinking about Cav last night for some reason. Not sure what brought it on, but was remembering our phone conversation when he was in the hospital. I kept telling him we love him, which made him laugh and say "I know" as he changed the subject, but for some reason last night I was thinking I may not have said it enough.

I don't know how this thread escaped my attention to this point.

It helps, and it also hurts worse. I can't explain that.

Waiting.

Picked up a stone on Friday to take to Cav in a couple of weeks.

Not forgotten.

Cav was a cool guy when he was here and I'm sure he is a cool guy where he is now. Cool is one of those things that survives everything.

He's probably hanging out with James Dean right now.

that's actually my post. My computers crashed and I forgot to switch users. Now squinney will spank me. Cav would've gotten a kick out of that I'm sure.

That really makes me feel good, squinney...knowing that one of us actually had the presence of mind to tell him that while we could.

Bless you for that.

Will you check to make sure my golden one is still there? If not, I will send you another.

Re: It's been far too long...


That would be wonderful, Will!
Of course we are interested in your memories of Cav!
Looking forward to your next post.

Will o comes back to the scene of the crime...
Well, not exactly. But it's nice to be back to provide A2K readers with a new Cav story.

For the record, I did post a new story in late July...but it got lost in the transmission. I never got around to writing it again, and you can see how long it took me to come back to visit.

Anyway, let's begin.

Since Christmas is mere days away, here are some memories of Cav and the holiday season.

As most of you know, Cav was not religious. He did celebrate Hanukkah with his family, and attended his fair share of Christmas parties. But for the most part, Cav was not highly involved - or, surprisingly, interested - in the festivities during this time of year.

I have one unusual memory that sticks out in my mind. We were in our teens, and were walking home after school. It was dark outside, and quite a few homes already had their Christmas lights out. I made a harmless comment about how the beautiful displays on the lawns of our neighbours, and Cav blurted out, "Bah, humbug!"

The rest of the conversation went something like this (I'm paraphrasing a fair bit, of course):

ME: What's the matter? Don't you like Christmas?

CAV: Christmas is fine. I just don't care for all these lights, the trees, the carols.

ME: Why? Too commercial for you?

CAV: Yeah. Don't you think so?

ME: No, I like Christmas. You know that.

CAV: Yeah, but...don't you think it's TOO much? Can't people do this in private? Do we need these displays out in public?

ME: Jeez, Paul. It's Forest Hill - there aren't THAT many displays out on Christmas!

CAV: Sure. But it's still too many, if you ask me.

We ultimately just agreed to disagree after going in circles about 15-20 times. He obviously had some burning issue to deal with, and I wasn't going to change his mind. To paraphrase a popular commerical, I'd celebrate like Santa, and Cav would celebrate like Scrooge!

Here's the amusing thing. When Cav married Buttercup - who is Christian - he put up a tree in his apartment, had some decorations, and might have even had a Christmas album or two in his record collection (although he never exactly admitted it to me - check with Buttercup).

In other words, Cav found some Christmas spirit as he got older. And not a moment too soon, if you ask me!

Merry Christmas, Cav.

And Merry Christmas to all A2K readers. I'll be back in 2007 with some Cav stories.

WOTW

will o the whisp
will o the whisp, thank you, thank you!

I still get a lump in my throat every time I come across a Cav contribution to our lives.

BBB

Willow, weep for me. I recently heard from buttercup. She observed that no one can ever replace Paul, but your memories are part of his legacy.

Good to hear from you, Will! I look forward to hearing those stories. Don't stay away so long next time, okay?

Thanks, Will-o.

That was very evocative. Christmas lights in Forest Hill

Wonderful to hear Cav stories again!

agreed

gone, but certainly not forgotten

The lovely thing about Cav, Will, was that he could say Bah, Humbug (about whatever ...) with absolutely no bitterness, unpleasantness & without resentment. He always managed to make his message clear, though. He was a terrific communicator!

Thanks for returning here & sharing that story, Will.
Waiting for the next instalment. When you're ready, of course.

A new Cav story
It has been way too long since I posted a new Cav story. Here's a short one on an unusual topic.

For many years, Paul and I would head out for a few beers and/or a few games of pool. We had a number of hangouts in Toronto, either near where we lived or in the downtown core.

One old hangout we used to regularly frequent was Daiquiri's. It was located in the Yonge and St. Clair area of Toronto, right next door to a Fran's.

Daiquiri's was a thowback to old bars and pubs in the 1960s and 1970s, right down to the wall paneling. There were some incredibly old bottles of liquor, including an awful looking green alcohol (either Creme de Minthe or Melon Liqueur) that seemed to be festering at times. That's the way I used to remember it, anyway!

The pool table was also a disaster. It was barely a regulation table, and worst of all, the bloody thing was slanted! (Or the floor was. Or maybe both.) We had some interesting games, to be sure. :wink:

There were a number of regulars at the bar, too. An older gentleman who took care of a woman who lived in the area. A female bartender who used to go to the gym a lot. And an odd assortment of semi-regulars who seemed to have known one another for many years.

Oh yes, and the beer was reasonable, too.

In other words, Daiquiri's was a type of Cheers, a neighbourhood bar that interesting sorts of characters would gather in. Cav enjoyed this location, and would go quite often. He would become friendly with some of the regulars, and would occasionally tell me about their lives, problems, and so on.

The moral of this story? The Cav you knew was the "real article," so to speak. When he was interested in something or someone, he would put a lot of his energy into making it into a strong relationship. Much like he did with the fine people here at Able2Know.

I'll be back again soon. That's a promise.

Please do, I like the little memories of cav and timber that folks post from time to time.
I just recalled, or is it my imagination, didnt cav and Timber leave us at approximatelt the same times of year?