Isolation Bringing Us Together

The last time I spoke with my cousin Paul was back in 2013. We had recently moved from London to Brooks, Alberta where my wife accepted a position as a public dietitian and I would be working on the supply list for the local school board. Paul had been living in Inuvik since 2006, working as a helicopter pilot. We were hoping to get in a visit, but distance and busy schedules prevented us from connecting.

Growing up, Paul was my idol. Paul played hockey for McGill University, fought NHL great Brendan Shannahan at a London Knights training camp, and went on to play professional hockey in England. Following that, he worked as an equity trader on the London International Futures Exchange while also serving as a special operations soldier for the British Army Honorable Artillery Company. More recently, he worked as a commercial helicopter pilot and as a regional supervisor of operations in charge of 32 government departments in two regions. He is currently flying in the arctic and the base manager for Fort Simpson (NWT). Needless to say, the World’s Most Interesting Man has competition.

Paul, International Man of Mystery

I was caught off guard while we were eating dinner and my iPad began ‘ringing’, signalling that someone wanted to FaceTime. We regularly Skype with my in-laws from Michigan, but had chatted earlier that day. I was shocked to see that Paul was trying to connect. My first thought was that he ‘butt-dialed’ me; my second thought was that someone had fallen ill due to the coronavirus. Thankfully, it was neither. Paul had been scrolling through his contact list and was reaching out to friends and family members.

It was great introducing my boys to their distant (both figuratively & literally) cousin. He gave us a tour of the Fort Simpson (NWT) base and showed the boys his helicopter. He also sent us a number of photos, videos, and maps. The boys will have a project next week, as they will research this rarely seen part of Canada. The Northwest Territories recently announced that their borders would be closing. Paul works in a small community of around 1,000 people. Wearing his health & safety hat, he advised his company against sending him to different parts of Canada, demonstrating his social responsibility to the community. One case of the coronavirus could be devastating to an isolated community with limited medical facilities.

Ram Plateau, Nahanni National Park Reserve, NT

As we all (impatiently) wait for life to return to “normal”, we should take advantage of this special time to reach out to the people we’ve lost touch with. How many of us have hundreds of friends on Facebook that we haven’t had any real contact with for years? If they truly are friends, I’m sure they would love to hear from you and catch up. Try to stay positive and keep the conversation away from “current” events.

Thankfully for Tom, he has technology the second time around.

Being isolated over the next few weeks (and possibly longer) will be tough on many of us. For Paul, this has been the norm for a number of years. He has relied on technology to communicate with friends, family, and the outside world. There is something special about connecting with someone that you’ve lost touch with it. It can have a significant positive effect on your mental and emotional well-being and profound effect on your mindset. I’d like to challenge you to reach out to 3-4 people that you’ve lost touch with this week.

I’m sure they will be elated to hear from you during these trying times.

Be Well. Stay Well.