November 23 2012 was a very special day that I would have given my right arm to have been able to share with my beloved Janet Wendy. I was thinking of her throughout the day, and if I looked sad when I should have been happy, if I seemed distracted when people engaged me in conversation, that was the reason. It was the day of my investiture as an Officer of the Order of Canada. The ceremony took place at Rideau Hall, the home of the Governor General of Canada. Last time I was there was in 2003 to applaud Wendy when she got the Governor General's Caring Canadian Award in recognition of her dedicated volunteer activities, and a good deal of the time she was with me, in my thoughts, as the ceremony progressed. David drove me to Rideau Hall well before the scheduled time for the start of the day's festivities. This was necessary because those of us getting the Order of Canada had been told to arrive in time for a briefing, which was detailed and of course in both French and English. We walked into the large "Tent Room" in Rideau Hall in procession, to the applause of family members and other guests. The Governor General, His Excellency David Johnson, made a short, witty speech, welcoming us all to the "Snowflake Club" then one by one we were called up to stand beside him as our citation was read aloud to the audience. Then he presented each of us in turn with our handsome medal. Members' medals, slightly smaller than Officers' medals, were placed on a sort of hook that had previously been pinned to their lapels; Officers' medals were hung around each of our necks, David Johnson (whom I'd met several times before when he was President of Waterloo University) said a few words to each of us, shook our hands warmly, we signed the honour roll of the Order of Canada, and returned to our seats.
Here's a photo from today's
Ottawa Citizen of His Excellency David Johnson shaking my hand after hanging the handsome "snowflake" medal around my neck (photo complete with blemishes not to be seen in the flesh).
I will get a colour copy of this photo and several others eventually, as well as a DVD of the entire ceremony
After the ceremony, we had a chance to tour Rideau Hall, similar to the tour we made when Wendy got her award in 2003, and during this tour, one of the uniformed young soldiers from the Governor General's Foot Guards, took the only other photo I have so far, of David and me:
David is wearing his military medals and looks decidedly more handsome than I do. But I think my medal is larger than any of his, even the full sized ones rather than these miniaturized copies. We were in the spectacular and very beautiful greenhouse of Rideau Hall.
In the evening, I returned to Rideau Hall with my "date" for the evening, David's wife Desre. We had a magnificent, rather exotic feast at a banquet, during which David Johnson circulated among the guests and presented each of the newly appointed holders of the Order of Canada with a second medal, Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee Medal, which like the Order of Canada, I am expected to wear on ceremonial occasions.
With David's wife, Desre (Kramer) in the Reception Hall of Rideau Hall, after the banquet on the evening of Nov 23, 2012
When I get more photos, I might add them to this post, starting with these two:
His Excellency David Johnson with Rebecca, David, Jonathan and Rebecca's husband Richard Guenette, and me too of course
Enjoying a glass of Perrier Water
after many chats at the reception
Congratulations for receiving this award. Although it was a bittersweet occasion, it's nice to see you smile for the camera.
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