The story of Terry Fox – the 22-year-old cancer survivor and amputee who set out to raise funds for cancer research by running across Canada on one leg – is legendary.
If you’re Canadian, you know Fox’s story. In school growing up, we’d re-learn it every year before setting out on our own “Terry Fox run” fundraiser. I probably know more about Terry Fox’s life than I do about the first 22 years of my own parents’ lives.
His athletic promise in high school. The cancer that cost him his leg. The start of the run on the east coast. Dipping his prosthetic leg in the Atlantic. The growing media attention as he passed through the cities of eastern and central Canada.
The cancer’s return. The end of his run, almost exactly halfway, and his promise to finish it once he was out of hospital. The promise he couldn’t keep.
The story most Canadians don’t know is the story of the teenager who kept Fox’s promise.
Steve Fonyo suffered from the same cancer Terry Fox did, and also had a leg amputated. At 15, he watched Fox’s attempted run, and at 18 he followed in Fox’s footsteps, completing the 7900km run and raising $14 million for cancer research in the process.
After a brief but intense period in the spotlight, and being awarded the Order of Canada, Fonyo’s fame began to fade, and his life took a dark turn. His Order of Canada was revoked in 2009. In the 2015 documentary Hurt, Fonyo is shown stealing car parts to pay rent, and insisting that somehow Canada is to blame for his fall from grace.
A life of petty crime, destructive behavior, and addiction hounded Steve Fonyo until, just last month, he died at the age of 56.
Knowing this, it’s hard for me to watch footage of Fonyo’s epic run across Canada without getting the uneasy feeling that he was motivated more by fame than altruism. He looks less like a hero and more like a brave but lost 18-year-old who thinks his time in the light will last forever.
Afie Jurvanen, aka Bahamas, is a Canadian who was born in the window between Terry Fox’s death and Steve Fonyo’s rise to fame. Lauded for his organic blend of blues and folk, he has a knack for conjuring just the right kind of sadness to act as a soundtrack for a fallen hero like Fox, or a lost soul like Fonyo.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. The quiet “mmm” of the backup singers in the verse.
2. The sparkling arpeggiated guitar in the chorus.
3. There’s no traditional snare drum. Instead, a shaker, a brush, and a muted strum on the guitar keep a steady, cross-country rhythm.
Recommended listening activity:
Accepting your faults.