Thursday, March 05, 2020


A TRAGIC LEAP DAY REMEMBRANCE


February 29, 2020, marks the 'two-year' anniversary of the death of my son, Jordan, who tragically drowned in Goose Bay, Musgravetown, Newfoundland and Labrador, in 2012. Although eight years have passed, chronologically-speaking, this is only the second Leap Year Day since then (the first being in 2016).

Jordan had not quite reached his twenty-fourth birthday, but before moving with his younger brother to Canada's 'Far East' to live with their father, their formative years were spent in Ontario. He was born in North York on May 22, 1988 (and his brother, Angus, in Toronto in 1991). He was the second son of Walter Wells. His older brother, Shawn, who would also pass away suddenly in March 2018, also resided in that metropolis.

Jordan and Angus lived with me for a couple of years in Ottawa (my birthplace) in the early '90s after the marital break-up, but we returned to the Greater Toronto Area (Scarborough) in 1995 in search of more plentiful job opportunities for me. Shortly before the 9/11 catastrophe in New York City in 2001, we moved to Hamilton, but the boys, now almost 14 and 10, were not happy living there. In 2002, their father, who had moved back to his roots in Newfoundland, was about to re-marry and asked if the boys could come stay with them (and their soon-to-be stepsister, Deanna) to 'give them a taste of country living'. I was burning out as a working single parent, and the boys were more than up for it, so I agreed, under the condition that they be returned in a year's time.

It was naive of me not to realize that they would actually love it there and make new friends during this extended 'visit', so I decided to allow them to stay where they were happy. Because their early upbringing had consisted of numerous moves, I felt it would be good for them to finally grow roots. This was something I had never had, being from a military family who moved to and from various cities in Ontario and Quebec.

It would be almost ten years to the day of his arrival in Jamestown when Jordan would unsuccessfully cross Goose Bay on a four-wheel ATV at night. The snowfall may not have started until after he set out. It might have been about a half-hour drive along the frozen shoreline trail, but he must have become disoriented, and the vehicle veered off the trail and into only partially-frozen water. His absence at the other end of his journey was not noticed until the next morning. Local friends and family members were contacted, but no one knew of his whereabouts. A search-and-rescue team was dispatched, and shortly afterwards his helmet and boots were discovered floating in the bay. A Coast Guard vessel was able to locate and recover his body the following day.

Now residing in Ottawa again (and Angus and his fiancee in Calgary), I am still haunted, imagining myself through Jordan's eyes and mind, alone on his ATV on that cold, snowy night. Although he was a fearless sort, he must have realized at some point the danger he was in, but not until it was too late. As I prepare for Angus's wedding in St. John's this coming September, I dearly wish Jordan and Shawn could be there, too.


D. Wells (Feb. 29, 2020)


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