David Samuel Hall
David Samuel Hall launched into his sixth decade and realized he was an elder, whether he liked it or not. His fifth decade had brought a much needed mid life crisis that turned his life upside down, but which resulted at the end of that decade in the most rewarding relationship of his life. Jacqueline has become his Queen, heart partner, spiritual guide and fellow student of life's vagaries at exactly the right time to prepare Sam for his role as elder.
His writing, once done solely to tell a good story or pass on some skill, now must also have some depth in order to satisfy the need for exploration of meaning; be a vehicle to further personal growth; or contain some germ of wisdom befitting an elder.
Sam has travelled extensively in South and Central America, most notably Ecuador, and has adopted the more Spanish sounding name 'Samwell' to better respect his healing journey and to be addressed in a more melodic form than the yappy 'Sam' can ever aspire to. Besides, he notes with a wry smile, he has yet to have someone hear the name Samwell and respond, "I had a dog with that name once."
Samwell is now retired after a long work career that began with babysitting, potato picking and snow shovelling from the age of 11. The most memorable babysitting job involved holding a 1 year old on his lap in the back of a Piper Cub, while the mother and her newborn sat next to the pilot for a trip from Hay River, NWT to the grass strip in Fort Providence during spring breakup. The winter ice road across the Mackenzie River had been washed downstream and more ice, pouring out of Great Slave Lake, made a crossing by boat impossible. The only way for the Mom to get her kids home was to fly. David, our Samwell's name at the time, was chosen simply because the payload capacity in the 65 hp plane was a mere 455 pounds and he happened to be the skinniest babysitter in town.
By 16, he was a movie projectionist at the Igloo theatre in Hay River and had met Queen Elizabeth, Prince Phillip and two of their incredibly odd children as a Scoutmaster in charge of 32 lads from across the Arctic at a summer jamboree. His parents, Nancy and Ben Hall, then moved the family to Calgary where David, by now known as Sam; David being much, much too commonplace among boomer children, was awarded 'Student of the Week' in an article in the Albertan newspaper where his "philosophy of smiling" was highlighted. He went on to the University of Calgary after a six month hand to mouth backpacking tour of Europe. His income sources by now included oil refinery lab worker, bicycle repairman, firewood retailer using a 1965 Ford pickup appropriately named 'Boss Hoss', and City teen program worker. By extreme good fortune the world of Forestry Towers was revealed to him by a former towerman who spoke wistfully of the solitude, the wind in the trees and the seven days a week of summer wages. This led Sam to seven summers in the bush: Fanny Hill Lookout, and Whitecourt Tower, in Alberta, and Marion Lake Tower in the NWT, north of Great Slave Lake. May until September in splendid isolation, miles from anywhere. Samwell smiles wistfully when he mentions the towers. Many of the tower stories were published in an anthology, 'The Boreal Factor', by Smoky Peace Press in 2003.
The quarter century after tower life and before mid life started with a wedding and ended with a divorce. Son's Daniel and Jason grew up to become cowboys and Sam worked full time for Scouts Canada, Alberta Parks, Alberta Housing, Alberta Metis Settlements, and for 8 years, Administrator in a rural municipality. Betrayal by the Treasurer, who misappropriated the funds in order to gamble at the newly allowed video lottery terminals, led to a seven year long legal education at the expense of the insurance providers that ended in the Supreme Court of Canada. Samwell is happy to explain all the nuances of this incredible chapter to anyone with a week of evenings to kill. He then lectured before elected and appointed officials across Alberta to lobby for changes to the rules which purportedly protected them from liability. This successfully culminated in the replacement of section 535 in the Municipal Government Act with a new clause; the 'Sam Hall' clause, which, by reducing the original long paragraphs to a single sentence, took all the cagey loopholes away from the lawyers. Sam is also happy to report that he has been honoured in his career as a Civil Servant by Premier's Awards from both Ralph Klein in Alberta and Christy Clark in BC.
After many rich years in Metis political circles as a Regional Manager, Settlement Administrator, contractor assisting with self governance development, and project management, Samwell embraced his mid life realization that life was in need of a reorg and decamped to British Columbia to live with a woman whom he was just off-balanced enough to think he was suited. Ah, the joy in life is often a product of painful revelations which, in Sam's case was awakening to the realization that he was woefully ill prepared for 'relationship' and could not fathom what to do about it.
Enter Queen Jacqueline who began with instruction in grieving, dancing and meditation. The lessons continued through spirituality, attentiveness, commitment, veracity of feeling and authenticity of emotion. Oh, so this was how life was supposed to be lived!
Jacqueline encouraged an exploration of intimacy, fearlessness, freedom from guilt and together they trooped into the hills near Coldwater Creek to do successive 10 day silent Vipassana meditation retreats. Nothing like filling the mind with silence to see how it rebels.
She also organized travels and the acquisition of apartments, purchased together, to add to her existing business as a landlord.
For Samwell, the Jacqueline years have been the most fulfilling of his life, a tribute to her qualities in bringing out her partner's qualities, long ago repressed out of all knowing.
As an elder, Samwell hopes to bring the readers of this website humour, insight, wisdom and fun.
He dedicates his efforts to Jacqueline, his boys, a wonderfully extended family including oodles of grandkids and to you, his gentle readers. Samwell hopes that you find inspiration. Or at the least the odd smile along the way.