A Tribute to Max and ‘Bet’ To is especially to Jean, Peter and Paul The recent passing of Betty Edwards marked the end of a continuum of people whom I have held very special in my life. My formative years in Gander were weaved and developed with a fabric whose thread was stitched with the warmth and grace of my parent’s friends, none of whom could rank higher than Maxie (aka ‘the Great Martin’ as my father used to call him) and ‘Bet’ . ....referred by me in my youthful days of course as Mr. and Mrs Edwards. Mind you, to my enormous pleasure, there were others as well who equally enriched my life. But this is a time to talk about Max and Betty. At a time today when people are busy texting, checking emails, mindlessly watching TV, playing video games or with vibrating cell phones strapped to their bodies for fear that they may miss something, I can grasp hold of my inner self and clutch to the truth and assurance that I grew up in a different, and dare I say, better time. That time embraced the spontaneous occasions when Max and Bet, and others. would drop by. Simply put, Max and Bet would sit around the living room, usually smoke filled in those days (the only thing I didn’t like about it all but didn’t care about either at the time) and carry on conversations about everything and nothing. No TV, no Ipads, no video games,....just conversation. Mind you, as children we would sit along the edge of all the dynamics that unfolded, saying nothing so we wouldn’t be noticed, trying desperately not to be conspicuous while at the same time sucking everything in like water buffalo under a watchful eye trying to sneak in as much water before the predatory lions noticed our presence. I loved it. Then as time marched on and I became a man, I went back to Gander to cling to those roots and people like Maxie and Bet. They were a main stay in my life in ways that they never perhaps really realised, especially after my parents passed on. My father and Maxie were the greatest of fishing buddies. One of the joys of my life was to fish with both of them. Sometimes with both and later after the passing of my father, with the Great Martin, as my father often referred to him. On one occasion, after both my parents had passed on, I spent a week in Gander during which time I fished every day with Maxie on the First Pond Bar in the Gander River. We fished in his boat where my father would normally take station at the stern, manage the engine and manoeuvre of the boat , with Maxie perched at the bow. There I was , fishing at the stern with my father’s buddy at the bow, and enjoying every minute. When my Dad and Maxie fished together there were few words ever spoken and never a cross word...never. In the days that I spent that week there were countless times when the silence was beautifully broken by Maxie spontaneously saying...’Ray! did you see that one jump!?’ or..... ‘Ray.....did you see that rise I just got!? For the entire week I was Ray.........and I loved every minute of it. When the Great Martin passed on there remained still the thread woven through my youth with Betty. I always made a point of dropping by when I went through Gander to see her and always......she was delighted to see me as I was to see her. She was one plucky feisty lady who never, in her mind, seemed to grow old. Never was she one to dwell on her afflictions or problems. Instead she prodded my presence with questions about me, my family and more about what was going on in my life. How many people at her age would travel half way around the world as she did visiting her family without trepidation as though she was just getting a taxi to go downtown. Mind you I doubt she ever took a taxi downtown....more than likely she walked with her walker! She so often spoke about my mother, both of whom were very close friends. Both were War Brides and for that reason and much more, they shared much in common. There wasn’t a time when I would visit her, long after my mother’s passing, that she wouldn’t mention my mother in some way that was drenched in kind and soft reminiscence. Betty Edwards....not much bigger than a bird in size......but gigantic in spirit, pluck and stature. A real gift in life and a treasure to remember for so many great reasons whose life should be celebrated in her passing. May she rest peacefully in God’s lap.