With all the steeped history, the momentous legends and lore, the intricate architectural features and the many brilliant natural attractions found throughout St. John’s, Newfoundland – I always find a way to include a stop at the ‘Terry Fox’ statue on the harbor front whenever I conduct a “City Tour”. Even for our non-Canadian guests his is such an amazing tale, and just as importantly, I believe my ‘Terry Fox’ story also says a lot about the people of Newfoundland. Given that April 12 / today is the anniversary of the start of the Marathon of Hope, I thought it only appropriate to share.
Thirty five years ago Terry Fox, a very young cancer survivor, showed up in Newfoundland on a cold April morning to begin his ‘Marathon of Hope’ campaign. He arrived with very little notice though he quickly caught our attention when he announced his plan to run all the way across Canada – a distance of almost 7775 km and get this, he was going to do it on one leg (having lost the better part of his other one to cancer earlier that year). Keeping in mind that Terry’s project was the first charity in history to utilize a “Spectacular” fundraiser and since Newfoundlander’s are a very pragmatic people, we figured the young fellow had something seriously wrong with him. And I’m not talking about “the Cancer”, “He can’t be all there, eh boy. ‘Magine now – going to run all the way across Canada, and he on one leg! That just doesn’t make sense now does it?” Worse, and to further support our opinion, before he got going, he wanted to scramble down over the rusty piers and refuse on the waterfront to dip his “Good Leg” in what was then the nasty waters of “Maggoty Cove”. “What’s wrong with that young fellow at all?”
Needless to say he left the city without much fanfare and other than a few ‘Newfie’ jokes about “hopping a bus”, we really never thought much more of him – until he made it to Clarenville. Then Gander, Grand Falls, Corner Brook and finally, 902 km and a month later, he arrived at the terminus of our highway in Port aux Basques where I’m certain he could hear the cheers from across the province. He endured the brunt of whatever weather our especially harsh spring threw down on him. He bit down and suffered through the blisters, sores and aches that hardened his body and honed his determination. He conquered Newfoundland and along the way he captured our attention, gained our admiration and won our exultation.
Make no wonder our statue of Terry Fox is the only one of three near identical sculptures (the other two are in Ottawa and Thunder Bay) cast on a beach front instead of a level pad, for by the time he finished trekking our island we truly thought of him as a savior, capable of any task, including the ability to walk on water! Yes we doubted him at the onset and we might not have paid much heed to Terry when he started his campaign but the wake he created in Newfoundland cascaded into Canada like a Tsunami – funneling an enormous draft of cash that chased him all the way to Thunder Bay, and like his legacy, into perpetuity.
As Howard Aiken once wrote, “Don’t worry about anyone stealing your ideas. If they’re truly original you’ll have to beat it into their heads to get them to understand”. Thankfully, in Newfoundland you just need to prove they come from the heart! Here’s to the cure and all those who help achieve it. God bless and God speed!
