Farewell Address on behalf of the Australian – RSL Active contingent
2018 Soldier On Ski Camp Vancouver Island BC, Canada.
Presented by the Tone Deaf Vet – LCDR Damon Craig JP, RAN Retired.
This speech was written and delivered on K’Omoks territory and I acknowledge the People, their Ancestors and Elders as traditional custodians of the air, land and sea. This speech has been tidied up a little from that delivered to make it read better as text; the meaning remains…
Bon soir mes amies and welcome. Je m’appelle Damon. Je suis Australian et je suis une Engineer, J’habit a Melbourne avec ma famille.
Je n’ai pas to PTSD. Je ne le possede pas. Ce n’est pas une chose que je choisis de mettre dans mon sac a dos. C’est une horrible ami qui m’a trouve. Il est reste l’accueil et pas paye le compte.
Good evening, my name is Damon Craig and I am an Australian and an Engineer. I live in Melbourne with my family.
I don’t have PTSD. I don’t possess it. it is not a thing I choose to put in my back pack. It is a horrible friend that found me, It comes to parties un-invited, it ruins the dinner and uses the table as a washroom. Then leaves without paying the bar-bill.
So why am I here in Canada? Well it is a holiday without that guest, a chance to be me and be me alone on the snow. Simple. But that would not be enough for a speech would it… I need here to thank my snowboarding coach and wise mentor Alvin. and I don’t think he realises how profound his lessons have been…
He started saying things like that I had fine balance but no snow sense but later I worked out that he was giving me life lessons not just snow lessons.
He said that I needed to read the snow but I think he meant read a situation, read what was going on around me and kind of start to weigh up my options for the day.
He said find and edge. well in snowboarding, this is about getting the uphill edge of the board dug in, it helps you to hold on the snow, slip down the snow and eventually helps to turn the board, when you start to link turns from a neutral board. It also helps you to avoid the dreaded down hill edge, that in most snow conditions ends up with gravity winning in explosive style. I think what he meant was get some control of my board, get some movement on my terms and start to make some progress across the snow and down the mountain.
He told me to know my limits. Well this was a great enabler of my mid week morning off from the snow. I was really hurting and just snuggled up infront of the fire with a coffee and read the paper. It gave my legs the time off they needed and I made a couple of great runs in the afternoon, It also gave me some time to chat to another instructor and get some time in the sit ski. This was seriously cool and seriously fast. Sure I have no physical limits, but this sit ski bypasses all that and gives you true freedom on the snow. You have at least two helpers to guide the ski and help keep other snow demons away, but wow what fun. I then met up with my Instructor and went out for a nice run on the snow. The conditions were deteriorating but we managed this, there was board flipping ice under a deceptively thin powdery cover. There was a short fun slalom race set out for us, and I gave it a crack. My path was really unfriendly so I yelled to my coach to swap tracks and he did. I finished last by under a board length and had to buy the coffee at the lodge when we got back in.
He taught me how to fall. This is a very important practical lesson in snow, but it was worth so much in life. I had forgotten how to fall safely and get back up again, I had lost any shed of resilience that I possessed in my military career.
He taught me how to look up and enjoy the scenery. on a practical level, looking at my feet was a sure way to stack. but not only was boarding more fun when looking up, but I actually got to see the mountain. It was a simply gorgeous part of the world and even more pretty running through it on a a board. I got about 3 runs done each session (morning or afternoon) and really had to enjoy the views. Some bits I got to stop at and look around others were a blur. I also started to notice the change in conditions and how that impacted on the snow. There was certainly a variety of snow conditions I experienced; we had a few words and slang to try and describe it, but well short of the native peoples who have tens if not hundreds of phrases to describe the conditions.
He taught me to trust my instructors. At all times on the snow we had one or more clearly visible instructors with us. They, along with many other tasks, would look down the slope for danger and warn those up hill of us that there was awkwardness somewhere nearby. I really had lost my ability to trust other people since my career meltdown and this showed that maybe I could, where appropriate, share my trust around.
Finally he told me to relax and have fun. Sure a tense boarder is just a slave to gravity, but really this whole adventure was a blast and I needed to enjoy every heart beat of it.
He also gave me some advice on real estate, parenting and politics, but this material will be part of my book and speaking tour so I can hold that for a while. (pause for laughter)
This week would not have been possible without the sponsors and stakeholders. I know you have been mentioned, but just quickly, can I echo that sentiment.
Thanks to RSL Active of Australia for getting us here,
Thanks to Soldier On and the Canadian Defence Force for hosting the camp,
Thanks to the local team at 19 Wing in Comox for the logistics,
Thanks to VISAS for over 800 hours of first class instruction.
Thanks the the Whistle Stop Tavern for hosting dinner midweek and with the Flying Canoe Bar supporting my Inter-Continental Karaoke Career And Finally
Thanks to the League here for hosting this Presentation Dinner.
So where to from here. I am flying home tomorrow. I am sure that the evil friend of depression will be waiting for me at the baggage claim in the airport. but you know I will tell him about my time here, I will tell him how I smiled, ate, hot-tubbed, sang, skied, loved and learned…. and maybe he will leave me alone for a while…..
So my friends, until we meet again, stay safe, hug your loved ones and be kind to yourselves.
Thanks. (shake hands with Joe and get off stage)