You’ll have heard, of course, that Stuart McLean died last week. Maybe that’s part of what sets the bar for a person to be a national treasure: Their death is national news, on the understanding that everyone will know who they are.
I first heard Stuart on Peter Gzowski’s “Morningside” on CBC Radio, where he told stories about unknown but quirky Canadians from all parts of the country. Starting in 1994, he produced The Vinyl Cafe and sold it to CBC for broadcast. He also presented between 75 and 100 live shows a year for 14 years. When was this guy ever at home?
On the announcement of his death, the tributes came in. Well, they were news coverage of his death and recaps of his life, but in this case it amounts to the same thing.
National Post
CBC News
Jim Taylor’s Blog
My favourite McLean work was the stories about Dave and Morley. These are available on his site by podcast.
Here’s how that site summed him up:
Stuart always emphasized that the world is a good place, full of good people, trying to do their best. He believed in people’s extraordinary capacity for love and generosity. And he had faith in our ability to work together for the common good.
He was, in other words, firmly committed to celebrating the positive, joyful and funny side of life. Stuart assured us that even in difficult times, we can find things to be grateful for and ways to laugh. Now that he is gone, we will try hard to do just that.
Stuart connected us ““ to our country and to each other. He entertained us, he made us think, he made us smile. Occasionally he made us cry. And, through all of that, he reminded us that life is made up of small moments. We never know which ones will be forgotten and which ones will stay with us forever.
So today, and hopefully every day, we’re going to celebrate Stuart’s life by trying to make each moment count and by being grateful for all of them.
Here’s how he might have summed up his own philosophy:
Pledge of allegiance
Was he a perfect guy? I don’t suppose so. But a treasure, nonetheless. I’m sorry he’s gone.
This post is part of my sesquicentennial project: 150 posts about Canadian national treasures – people (living or dead), places, and things that I think are worth celebrating. I started 01 July 2016, and will finish on 30 June 2017.
