BarrieToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected]. Please include your full name, daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter is in response to ''Huge event': Orillia prepares to say goodbye to Gordon Lightfoot,' published May 4.
Gordon Lightfoot provided so many memories for so many people. One memory is playing over and over in my mind today.
I thumbed from Toronto to Sudbury in 1976. Turning left, I headed for the mountains. Employment in Banff was the destination.
I recall one day hearing that Lightfoot would be playing in Edmonton the coming Saturday. Well, I left Banff at seven in the morning that Saturday.
My thumb took me to Calgary, then Red Deer and finally to Edmonton around six. I purchased a single ticket at the far end of the Edmonton Coliseum.
I remember Lightfoot walking on stage. I recall the voice, the cheers, the applause, and a palpable sadness as the show closed.
After the show, I slept in a city park by a river with a few thousand other Lightfoot fans, then thumbed back to Banff the next day.
The show date was July 24, 1976.
How do I remember the date? I still have the ticket stub.
Gordon, thank you for the memories.
Gordon, rest in peace.
Eric Proctor
Peterborough
