The day began as usual – ablutions, breakfast and puttering on the computer.  We had two plans.  One, go to the golf club for a lunch; and two, attend the Farewell to Bunny get together late afternoon.  The primary irregularity was naturally the farewell gathering.  Yet even the luncheon at the golf club had its element of uniqueness.  Because of the recent cool, cloudy and often rainy springtime weather we’ve lately endured, our attendance at the club has been diminished from what is our routine.

I am bound to observe as well that today was a scheduled visit from our housekeeper.  As a result we did her the favour – as is our custom – of abandoning our digs during the cleansing process.  As a result we thought to follow breakfast with a jaunt to Renfrew County then into Stittsville for a car wash before returning to the golf club at lunchtime.

But as we drove past the high school Thunderbolts soccer match in progress on Martin St S towards the Village of Blakeney the telephone rang. The number showing on the GPS screen was unfamiliar but when I saw the abbreviation LLP after the cryptic name GPA I suspected it was a law firm.  Accordingly I answered. The caller asked, “Is this Mr. Chapman?” The telephonist then inquired whether I might on occasion be in the city and whether I could sign an affidavit in connection with a document I had prepared in 1990.

i didn’t bother to ask the nature or details of the document. I was more interested to know where the law office was located because I equally advised my declining mobility obstructs my travel. The telephonist then suggested she could send the papers to me by courier but I knew this would entail my having to arrange to see a Commissioner for taking Affidavits to swear my oath.

In the end  upon learning the law firm was located in the west end of Ottawa in an area vaguely familiar, we opted instead to turn the car around and head forthwith into the urban depths. Within an hour we were seated in the law office with its 12’ ceilings.  I reviewed the documents, suggested a number of minor alterations to the affidavit, then scribbled my indecipherable signature onto the form in the presence of the Commissioner for taking Affidavits and swore that the contents thereof were true.

For my partner and me it was like old times! It was the first time since having retired and sold my law practice that I have been obliged to conduct anything resembling legal activity. Frankly the particularity of the endeavour was intoxicating! It was a reminder that even the smallest detail is not free from consideration. The entire process reinvigorated my being and reaffirmed not only that to which I had so assiduously devoted myself for nearly half a century but also the reason I was glad to be out of it.

As a further aside, the law clerk who supervised this meeting proclaimed how easily and quickly she had located me – including my photograph – on the internet.  Apparently this was a surprise to her principal as well. It didn’t of course surprise me because I have often used the internet to investigate details of others – and normally with moderate success.

All in all it had been a fruitful introduction to the main event of the day – the farewell gathering. When we arrived promptly at the time appointed in the written invitation, proceedings were already buoyantly underway.  The room was crowded with bubbling neighbours and well wishers. A festive board was displayed; and drink glasses abounded. We immediately squeezed into one of the few remaining seats.  Bunny was as always beautifully apparelled. Our hosts were as usual magnanimous and inviting. The crowd of well wishers constituted a congenial mix.

Farewell to Bunny!

To gathered friends and neighbours too
You may not hitherto know (as I do)
That Joan has kept it hidden away –
The name she goes by on a special day.

My senses tell me I’m quite in line
To sanction this occasion as appropriately fine
To expose the secret she’s concealed away –
The name she goes by on such a day.

To communicate how or even when
I stumbled upon this charming pseudonym
Is happenstance now and lost in the fray –
A recollection detached from the sobriquet.

I will however report with content
The name is one upon which much is spent
To distinguish a cutie and favourite honey –
I speak of course of the name of Bunny!

So, Bunny, we salute you as you’re about to depart,
Wishing you happiness from the depths of our hearts!
We know you’ll adore your new fashionable digs;
May the grass be as green and the carrots as big!

May 21, 2025

Farewell to Joan
225 Johanna Street
Almonte, Ontario K0A 1A0