January 17, 2025
Since retiring from teaching in 2020, I’ve taken on a list of passion projects: two (almost three) books, a few podcasts and videos, involvements with Heritage York, Mapping our Memories, and “They Walked These Streets, We Will Remember Them.” It’s been amazing.
A lot of this has happened on some pretty small stages. But recently, something happened that felt BIGGER. On January 15, 2025 – together with thirty-four other truly amazing people – I received the King Charles III Coronation Medal for my work on local history through my writing, media content, teaching and presentations. What a blast it was to see my name written on the same page as Pia Bauman, Madeleine McDowell and Philip Cote III! My heartfelt thanks to Canada’s Minister of Justice, MP for Parkdale-High Park, Arif Virani; Governor-General of Canada, Mary Simon; and King Charles III, for this tremendous honour. Special shoutout to my wife Sue who has been there every step of the way – as she was that night.
I’ve always been driven by a simple idea: “Everyone has a story.” To anyone out there who has an urge to tell your story, I say: start today. You might feel that your characters are too plain, the plot too simple, the conflict not exciting enough, the setting too common, or the theme undefined. You also might think some far-off people who run the literary establishment and the book clubs won’t even read your first paragraph. Forget all that. If this is really important to you, start telling your story today. Find a quiet space. Don’t overthink it. Don’t let fear, laziness, insecurity or mind games stop you before you start. Don’t defeat yourself! Start. Now. You’ll be surprised at what you can build when you put in the work and persevere.
Besides, what else were you going to do with your life?
Chris
