A Summer of Stories - Making the Most of Open Time

I would also say you are never too old to learn. – Cameron

This is our fifth story/interview from A Summer of Stories. You can read the introductory post and the previous four here.

Cameron and I have known each other for a full decade as of this past spring. It seems unbelievable, but it’s true! We’ve had the opportunity to work together at two live theatres as part of the Front of House teams. One theatre is a physical theatre with a rich history in the community and a variety of shows including youth. Another is a travelling Shakespeare theatre, which performs in communities across our province through the summer. We work Front of House for the performances local to us and have been able to be at performances in beautiful meadows, treed parks and lakesides.

I’ve always been struck by Cameron’s love of life and learning, as well as expansive knowledge. He is also a natural community builder. He knows so many people and each time we’re at a show together, I meet someone new. Every single time.

Because the shows we would have worked on have been cancelled this summer and spring, we’ve been keeping in touch by email and phone. With so much more time at home during the pandemic, Cameron has gotten creative and resourceful about how to spend it. One of the main things he has decided to dive into this summer is really deepening his ability to read. He’s also decided to regularly dive into numbers and improving his skills which will help him better enjoy some of his interests such as golf, heavy machinery and managing money around many of the places and events he likes to attend.

This spring I was really taken with how much our conversations and emails were filled with updates about these things and how enthusiastic and focused he was on working toward personal goals.

He has agreed to share some details of his process. His mother, Beverley, has agreed to offer some historical perspective as I was interested in her thoughts going back into his school and childhood years in relation to his interests now.

The three of us had a lovely conversation and agreed that we can learn things at any time in life, when it’s useful and interesting to us and we have the kind of time, space and support to do so.

Here we go …

Cameron and Beverley, thank you so much for your willingness to share some information about this process. It was an interesting spring, that’s for sure, and we missed our theatre time, but I’ve been interested in the way you’ve made the best of things and have found other opportunities.

Before we talk about that, Cameron, can you talk a bit about some of your current interests?

Cameron:

Sure. I enjoy music, golf, construction and heavy machinery, swimming, local hockey and live theatre.

Right now I am interested in reading my Dragon Master books.  There are 16 books and there is a new one coming out in October.  I have read all of the 16 books and I am going to begin at #1 and read them again to see if my reading skills have improved.

I am also interested in working on Math, reading comprehension, printing, time, and money.  I have completed 3 workbooks with these skills in them and I am now working on my 4th workbook.

I have always noticed how much you know and the wide range of interests you have. Do you also consider yourself to be an active learner?

Cameron:

I think I am an active learner.  I use the computer each day to look up Heavy Equipment Machinery, Music, Firefighters, Disney characters, and bloopers from Television shows, and Roasts of Comedians from older Television shows like Dean Martin, Foster Brooks, Don Rickles, Tim Conway and other well-known people.  I like to listen to a variety of music, new and old, rock, contemporary, classic, opera, and some country singers as well.

I love receiving mail and love looking at the magazines when they arrive.  I receive a Heavy Equipment Guide, Infrastructure, Rock and Road, Golf Digest, Golf, Canadian Geographic and Entertainment magazines.

I enjoy looking at the pictures and reading all of these magazines.

Before the pandemic I was working Front of House at the theatres and always meeting new people and learning something new.

What were some of the things you were interested in as a younger child? Did you have certain interests that stood out?

Cameron:

I have been interested in machinery since I was young and had a sandbox.  I had a dump truck, a front loader, a grader all made from steel.  I played for hours and hours in the sandbox.  I loved it.

Then I got interested in reading Heavy Equipment Traders when I was nine years old and loved learning and watching construction cranes and other heavy machinery on the job sites.

My Dad took me to York University to watch the large cranes at work on the grounds of the University.  I also looked for cranes every time we went on the highway to go somewhere.

I still love to do this and love going to construction sites to watch them work.

I was also interested in fire trucks and visiting the Fire Department and hearing the siren go off when there was a call for the firemen to go out on a call.  I still visit Chief Dave and the crew at Headquarters. Dave is looking forward to me visiting again, hopefully this October.

I also loved going to swimming lessons at the Recreation Center with my sister Colleen when I was young.  I love going swimming and I am really looking forward to the Recreation Center opening up again so I can go to my Aquafit classes.

I also enjoyed playing baseball, basketball, bowling and bocce ball.  I really miss my friends at bowling.  I have no idea when I will be going back to bowling.

Yes, it’s really hard to know when any of those kinds of things will be up and running again. 

I’ve heard you mention a lot of great connections you made in your years at school. I’ve even had the opportunity to be introduced to some of your school friends and teachers. It seems like you were surrounded by some really great people and I know there were some really positive things in your life from school.

That being said, in conversation with you both, Cameron and Beverley, it seems that the process of reading didn’t always go smoothly, maybe partly because of timing/readiness and partly because there just wasn’t enough time or opportunity at certain points. Could you each elaborate a bit about that?

Beverley:

Cameron was not really interested in reading books or working on educational skills that would help him in many areas of his life.  He was not as calm or receptive as he is now.  The timing is good for Cameron.  Being out in the community with so many distractions and always looking for people to talk to was exhausting for Cameron even though it is one of the things he loves.  He loves meeting people he knows or meeting new people but some days it is too much for him.

I find we are managing well during this time of isolation.  He has a calmer, slower schedule so this allows for a calmer pace in general.

Cameron is receptive to all the new learning.  When I went to look for him several times I found him sitting at the dining room table practicing penmanship.  He did this all on his own without me prompting him.  That has never happened before.

We work well together and his confidence has greatly improved and his reading and math skills improve each day.  Cameron is really enjoying the stories in this series of books and we both find them very interesting.

Cameron:

I was nervous to read because I had a hard time reading when I was in school and I did not want to make a mistake.  I would rather spend my time doing other things like being on the computer or looking for people to talk to.

I did not have a lot of free time because I was very busy going out to do activities with my friends and support staff and then I would need a nap in the afternoon because I was so tired.

And yet, really, Cameron, you have found a lot of ways to keep learning and do the things you enjoy and have picked up quite a few skills, including some reading along the way anyway, which is great. I guess what I’m saying is that you’ve continued to live an active life and learned a lot along the way.

So, then, with so many changes put upon you as far as how you were able to spend your time when the pandemic came about, I understand that some of the things you’ve begun doing have involved working on some of the skills that you didn’t gain as strongly in earlier years. Can you explain what it is you’ve begun doing?

Cameron:

I have a routine and each day I read chapters of my book. I then work on math, printing, and other skills.

We also work together doing gardening, baking, cleaning the house and doing my laundry and any other chores that need to be done around the house.  We also love to spend time relaxing outside getting fresh air or I do my reading outside while we sit out the front of the house or out on the deck.  We love to watch Good Witch and Golf together and some other shows and now Christmas movies are on and I love watching Christmas movies.  I record them so we can watch them over again.

Beverley:

I would say that my answer would be the same as Cameron’s.  We do a lot more things together now that we are both at home and we work as a team.

Cameron loves working as a team just like when he works with you when he goes to his jobs.  Like many of us, he is really productive when he has a partner. We accomplish a lot when we do things together.  He is also very strong and helps me when I need and extra pair of hands.  It works well for us when we work together.

 Part of what is interesting to me is that when we first connected in very early spring, you had already begun working toward this and when I’ve spoken to you more recently this summer, you are still continuing. You’re working hard on it. What are some of things that you enjoy?

Cameron:

I love working on my reading and on the things in my workbook.  I am getting faster at answering the math questions and I am learning a lot of new words in my Dragon Master books.  My printing is a lot neater now and I have practiced a lot to get the letters looking like they should.  I am left handed so it is not always easy.

I still like to do it each day.

We talked a bit in our telephone conversation about a couple of other reasons that you are finding it worthwhile to keep spending time deepening your learning. I think it related to building skills that help you enjoy some of your other interests.

Cameron:

Every two years there is a Heavy Equipment show that I love going to in Toronto.  When I went the first time, I signed up to receive magazines on Heavy Equipment.  You needed a company name so my company is called Cam’s Cranes and I am the President.

I have received it by mail for a few years now.  I receive three magazines: Infrastructure, Rock and Road and Heavy Equipment Guide.  Each one has information on job sites that companies are working on and information on new machinery and some awesome pictures of job sites and heavy equipment.

On the Internet I look at Ritchie Bros., Machinery Trailer, Iron Plant, and Rock and Road.  I look at cranes, excavators, loaders, dozers, compactors, motor scrapers and paving equipment.

I also check online to see where the job sites are and if there is any work being done in our area that I can go have a look at.

Beverley:

I also signed us up to receive some extra magazines during the COVID-19 isolation on different topics.  We were already receiving Golf and Golf Digest which Cameron loves as we watch all of the Tournaments on television and know the golfers.  I signed up for Canadian Geographic, Entertainment and Home and Garden magazines which we are both enjoying.

The Canadian Geographic is another great learning tool and gives us more reading material that is interesting and some beautiful pictures.

Do you have any other ideas or goals in mind for books you’d like to read, working with numbers or other things you’d like to explore? Or are you seeing what comes up? Or maybe a bit of both?

Cameron:

Mom and I are going to look online to see if there is another series of books that I would enjoy reading.  We are not sure what that will be yet.

I will continue to work in my workbooks on math, printing and the other things in my workbook.

So, I’ve got to ask you about music, because that’s another thing that you and I really share an interest in. You have a fantastic singing voice – I’d say you sing bass – and you have a large repertoire of songs that you know. You also enjoy a wide range of musical genres and have a lot of fun with it.

I know you like so many musical artists, but who are some right off the top of your head that you really enjoy?

Cameron:

I really love Bruce Springsteen, Dire Straits, Van Halen, Chicago, Bare Naked Ladies, Bryan Adams, Brass Transit, and Mr. Mister.

Yes, I do too:). Cameron, I often notice how in tune you are with other people’s interests. You find ways to connect with people and build bridges based on shared interests. I’m sure you remember the time that you and I were in the car at a stoplight and we were singing away to the radio with the windows open. Then, a fire engine pulled up beside us and it happened that you knew them so they put their windows down and had the same radio station on, lol? And we were all singing away for a minute or so until the light turned green?

That was such a fun moment and it happened because you had taken the time to get to know them previously. In general, you are so interested in getting to know people and connecting people to each other.

What words of advice might you have to share with others about living, learning, connecting and enjoying life?

Cameron:

It is important to call your friends to see how they are doing and what they have been doing.  I really miss the people in my life so I call my support staff and people who used to work with me to see how they are doing.  It is important to me to stay in touch with them.

I call my friend Scott every week and sometimes more than that.  I really miss him.  We talk and laugh.  We have known each other a very long time.  I first met Scott when I was 3 years old.  We went to Public school together and now we go to bowling together and we are both part of Dream Catchers Family Group.

I would also say you are never too old to learn.  I have learned a lot and I will keep working on my reading, printing and math and learning new things.

It is also important to have a positive attitude about everything.  Sometimes I forget but my Mom always reminds me how important this is for all of us.  When you are positive it helps you to be happy and helps you to be healthy.

Thank you so much, Cameron and Beverley, for your time and thoughts:).

It is also important to have a positive attitude about everything. – Cameron