Imagine you’ve been asked to tell the story of Sir5R, an aging white guy, his ongoing journey through middle age, the speed bump of a close call with a cancer, the detour of a hemorrhagic stroke and the general silliness that surrounds a life getting older. Now he’s teetering on the edge of retirement, considering the prospect of freelancing, personal rebranding and reinvention.
How do you tell that story?
It’s not an easy story to tell, although, I have to admit that I think it’s going to be fun to try.
There may be a way to organize this catalogue of experiences into some sort of linear narrative, but I somehow doubt the effectiveness or efficiency of building out a straight up narrative.
How about providing documentation of the journey and all the detours in the form of a disorganized website and blog archive? That’s what this is, that’s what you’ve stumbled upon. This is my narrative; my past, my present and my future as I begin to define it, defend it and wrangle it.
This is SIR5R Journeys and the Detours.
My sandbox is in Canada, therefore most of the references presented have a distinctly Canadian flavour and sensibility with a maple syrup aftertaste layered with hints of America and Great Britain.
My mantra through all of this has always been; I’m Not Done Yet.
Depending on who you speak with it is either the ‘stubbornness’ inherent in that phrase or the ‘naiveté’ that has carried me through it all, and swept my companions along with me.
Much of what is included already , and will be included in the site has already seen the light of day in an obscure corner of Blogger. And no, this is not just a ‘repurposing’ of content, it is more of a constructive ‘re-telling’ with the appropriate embellishments, and links to make it a wee bit more valuable.
You will find pages specific to an oral cancer, a hemorrhagic stroke, and the things that I’ve experienced as I simply try to move through the world. And moving through the world as an aging white male, and grandfather, isn’t as easy as you’d think.
Stroke Recovery and Background
Who is SiR5R?
The quick descriptor on my Instagram account says this:
Creator who survived cancer and hemorrhagic stroke, picked up the brushes again, put batteries in his camera and is exploring the magic of drones!
There is only one author of all the pages and posts here, at least for now. As hinted earlier on, I am a middle-aged white male. I live in Canada. I was born here in the Dominion of Canada, and my family has been living in North America for sixteen traceable generations. Ya, sixteen. One of my ancestors arrived in New Amsterdam at the end of the 1500’s. Another branch of the family landed as Hessian mercenaries just in time for the American War of Independence. And there are other notable links that will be revealed as you explore the pages of this website and blog.
The top-of-mind point to be made is that Sir5R is a middle-aged white male who has survived oropharyngeal cancer, and a hemorrhagic stroke. The operative word is ‘survived‘.