This is my buddy Don.
I had the honour and privilege of knowing him for over 30 years.
And for all of that time, he retained the smile pictured above.
His favorite saying?
"Hello, Sunshine!"
And he truly meant it,
Don was always truly happy to see you.
It didn't matter if you were a good friend of his, or if he knew you slightly.
The smile was always the same.
If you were having a down day, just a smile or hello from Don would improve it instantly.
I know quite a few of my days were brightened and improved just by knowing him.
I first met Don around 1991 at a meeting of the Cerebral Palsy support group.
He was always a positive and energetic presence at those meetings, as well as the dinner and bowling nights the organization would put on.
Later on, Don and I wound up living in the same assisted living facility, and we would often get together at one another's places to watch movies or listen to music.
And I remember a few Grey Cups and Super Bowls at his place with Pepsi from the building machine, and pizza from 73.
And when I ran movies in the building, Don was the usher and was always happy to look after the lights.
And on those occasions when he and I would go for coffee at either West Edmonton Mall or Westmount Mall, I watched him bring smiles to complete strangers, simply by saying hello.
The same thing happened when we would occasionally go see his favorite oldies bands such as Gerry and the Pacemakers and Herman's Hermits.
And we certainly had fun watching The Fab Fourever, an outstanding Beatles tribute band from Vancouver, in 2014.
We were absolutely blown away by their recreations of the Beatles music and eras, and by the hospitality of the guys, who happily agreed to pose for the above picture after the show.
I used to sometimes joke with Don that I was jealous of him because he saw Beatlemania firsthand.
Paul McCartney once said in an interview that he was proud to be in a band that thought the thoughts and felt the feelings that led to songs like All You Need Is Love.
And I have to say that I am proud to have known a guy like Don Matheson, who not only really liked that particular song, but lived its ideals for his entire life.
I'll miss you bud.
Thank you for being my friend.
And for helping me see the positive in life when I needed it.
You were a heck of a guy.
Your buddy,
Mike
