Skip to main content

In Memorium


I have been humbled to have my name and memory honoured in a couple of unexpected ways this week. And these have made my living wake even more special.

The Board of Directors of IRSA (Immigrant & Refugee Services Association) PEI, formerly Newcomers, has decided to re-name the annual financial awards for students at Holland College and UPEI, the Craig Mackie Newcomer Scholarship. They have increased the annual amount from $500 to $1,000. These awards are granted to students who go above and beyond good academics and make meaningful contributions to the wider community through volunteering. Here is the announcement from Holland College: https://hollandcollege.academicworks.ca/donors/30

 

The members of my old curling team (and I do mean old ðŸ˜‰) will once again be representing Prince Edward Island at the Canadian National Masters Curling Championships in Winnipeg starting in mid-November. The team will be wearing a patch on their team jackets with my initials, CM, on it. I wish them well and know that every time one of them dumps an in-turn, they will say, Craig couldn’t have done that better ðŸ˜‚

 

Lastly, something I have wanted to do for awhile and am finally getting around to setting up is to establish a small scholarship for two Island junior curlers every year who help promote the positive aspects of the sport and who bring increased diversity to curling. I am getting the fund started with a donation of $1,000. I hope that there will be a way for others to add to this scholarship and receive a charitable tax receipt for their contribution. I’ll keep you posted and stay tuned for an announcement from the PEI Curling Association.

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Counting

  It’s feels strange to be counting the rest of my life in weeks and days and curling games on TV. While we haven’t finalized the date for MAiD we are aiming for early November. Some examples… Last week, confirmation of my cataract surgery arrived by mail with a date later in November. Nope. I won’t be here for that. A couple of days ago, a friend and former colleague dropped off some cookies and stayed for a brief visit. She said she would be out of province for about six weeks. As she was leaving, she said she would see me later. Nope. I won’t be here when you get back. The other evening I was asked why I was staying up so late. I replied that I was watching a women’s curling game and for me there were just a few games left in my life to watch so I was staying up. And all of a sudden it doesn’t feel as if there is enough time to make sure all the other things are looked after. One major item has been checked off the list: organizing and pre-paying for cremation. All I needed was ...

After the Transplant Doctor Consultation

Last Friday started sunny and calm outside. Inside, another story. Getting out of bed is very difficult most days. It takes a lot of energy and oxygen to get myself going. This morning I found myself in a coughing loop. The more I coughed, the lower my blood oxygen level dropped. Coughing is physically exhausting. After being unable to stop coughing, I switched from the concentrator to a tank of oxygen which gives me purer O2 and helps break the coughing loop. It worked, but I had used a lot of physical energy. I only have so much and I needed to save some for my meeting with a doctor from the transplant team at Toronto General Hospital. The meeting started late because the video conferencing app Microsoft Teams didn’t work. [surprise, surprise; btw I hate MS Teams] We finally got the audio portion working, but the doctor could not see us. We could see her and we could hear each other. The first 30 minutes or so was the doctor exploring my health history. I’m getting very good at telli...

Time is running out

The sand in the hourglass measuring the remaining time in my life is running out.   The past couple of days have been very difficult. My energy is low. My breathing more laboured. I have by times felt nauseous at the thought of eating. Overall I have never felt so weak. My body is shutting down.   ------------------------ "The mystery of life isn't a problem to  solve , but a reality to experience." Frank Herbert, Dune ------------------------   I know there is a time limit on the human body. I once read that human beings had evolved to live between 50 and 60 years, but 20th Century science and medicine had extended lifespans to 80+ years. About a year ago I looked back at males in my family. My father and my two grandfathers lived into their early 80s so I concluded I might have another decade. What I failed to consider is longevity on the female side of the family. My mom died at 78. Her mother at 77. Mom's sister at the very young age of 44. Seems my genetics line...