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Antigonish Review # 149
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Cover
Family Photo by Brendan Sanderson
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The Gift of George:
The End of the Dance
Gertrude Sanderson |
George had many gifts, among
the most abundant a restless inquisitive mind open to all disciplines
and humour which every day turned big and little things upside-down
and in the process brightened all our lives. But his greatest
gifts were his love of reading, discovering good writing and provocative
thinking, and his delight in working with a team to share the
treasure. For George. the joy as editor of TAR was the
process of reading, collecting and selecting submissions of writers
young and old, known and unknown, and presenting all the material
in a beautiful artistic cover for others to discover.
On October 7th, 2005, George had open heart surgery
in Halifax. It seemed to go well. The surgical team replaced an
aortic valve and said they didn't know how he had been getting
any oxygen. We returned to Antigonish on October 13th triumphant
in our hope. But by the 14th he was in great distress - pain.
We took him to St. Martha's Regional Hospital in Antigonish and
by Monday the 17th they took him by helicopter to Halifax. He
endured, despite discomfort and pain until November 4th. He died
early that morning. Our son Eric and George's brother Steve were
with him. Actually all the family were by his side during that
period. The problem was a staff infection, probably originating
from the surgery.
George was ever lucid, humorous and kind to his
care givers - loving and serene with his family.
The night before his surgery we were talking
quietly and he said: "Providence has always been good to us Gert:
that we should meet (he from Montreal, I from London, Ontario)
and marry; come to St. F.X. (where he taught Philosophy and I
taught French and Spanish); and find our beautiful place in Lanark
on Antigonish Harbour to live and raise Eric and Brendan. Even
when Brendan had his brain hemorrhage Providence was good to us.
But Providence has its twists, Gert."
Imagine this: the only dance George really enjoyed
was The Twist.
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