February 26, 2001
The items column - THE COMMENTARY
By Joseph Planta
I was deeply shocked to learn of the death of Rick Honey Saturday afternoon. Rick was a class act with a warm voice and a great sense of humour no matter the personal stuff he was going through. The last time I saw him in living colour was last summer when he was a guest on what was then called Daytime, now Urban Rush. He had just come back from his two year sabbatical after his unceremonious dump from a radio station out in Abbotsford, a gig he took up after 24 years as the afternoon drive host on CKNW. He had left ‘NW in the spring of 1997 and at dinner with their then society reporter, Joy Metcalfe, she told me how rough it was that ‘NW was losing some legendary personalities, including Rick, Jack Cullen and Gary Bannerman. She would be reunited with Rick, once again, when he joined 600AM in August. (Joy, was fired from ‘NW in 1999.) Rick was holding the morning shift until last Thursday, when he booked out early and went home.
In my bathroom I have two radios. One is glued to CKNW and in the mornings while brushing my teeth, I am often heard listening to Frosty Forst, who helped Rick get his start on CKNW back in the ‘70s. The second radio is tuned to 600AM where on occasion the ‘NW radio is turned off for Rick Honey and his corny jokes and sunny disposition. It was throat cancer that killed him and my thoughts are with his wife Gale and their family. Rick Honey will be missed. It truly is a shock. VANCOUVER -- Today is what you’d call an items column. A bit of namedropping, nothing checked or substantiated, just musings. Housekeeping if you will. Shvitzing from a chronic bout of writer’s block, warming over well-researched and well-documented books on Quebec nationalism, over warm cups of Earl Grey -- one needs solace. So here goes some meandering thoughts -- meandering items.
Last Tuesday, George W. Bush celebrated his first month as POTUS. (President of the United States.) It’s gone off pretty well: an American sub downed some fishing boat, while manned by civilian guests, he’s attacked Iraq, met our PM and met Presidente Fox of Mexico. Thank goodness Bill Clinton is mired in this crapola over Marc Rich’s pardon, or Bush would have a rougher ride. Ah, the life of the fruit of the Secret Service’s eyes. Not to mention Laura’s.
I’ve gone into the periodical archives at Langara and flipped through issues of Vancouver Magazine of about 20 years ago. (Yes, 1981, is 20 years ago!) I noted the masthead which stated that Malcolm Parry was its dutiful editor. (Mac does the items column in the Sun now.) I also read with interest the columns of Valerie Gibson. I wonder what ever happened to her? She did a monthly gossip column and its well written. If anyone knows of her whereabouts, I’d love to know. I do know however, that she is the ex-wife of Gordon Gibson, one of BC’s best known pundits. Looking at Vancouver Magazine, I note here, that its incarnation back in the ‘80s made it look like an upscale Vancouver version of The New Yorker. Today’s Vancouver Magazine isn’t as classy.
The paper of my choice, in terms of our two ‘national’ papers, is the National Post. There’s something about it that is better than the Globe and Mail. Lately, Alexander Rose, their young Brit who does columns on foreign affairs has been filing his column out of Washington. He’s got the pulse of the capital of the world well and writes well. He and lifestyle columnist Rebecca Eckler have been pretty close. In the Saturday National Post they used to do a column to column repartee debating manners of men and women. It made for interesting social etiquette reading. They also appear on the WTN show Modern Manners. They do segments for that show and look awfully cozy.
A couple of years ago I composed a column for the National Post, which wasn’t printed. They accept unsolicited guest columns, but the fine print states that they do not acknowledge columns sent them. But a couple days after firing it off, I got an e-mail thanking me and that it was good. Alex Rose sent that e-mail.
I caught most of the Grammy Awards last Wednesday night. It was as usual, a veritable mix of musical malady. After 31 years, Pierre Cossette (the producer of the Grammy telecast) should step down. He’s adjusted to the music well, but the show drags on and the show separates itself from the awards and become a show boat of musical performance, with the requisite hype no less. Jon Stewart of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show was not too funny, but reasonable enough. He’s one of the best comics around. Word is he’s one of Dave Letterman’s faves.
This ongoing mess re: the Grizzlies is funny. There’s a class-action lawsuit and all I see it accomplishing is bad publicity for Heisley. What does he care, he lied and we believed him. Score a point for him. It makes that Bill Laurie a saint, really.
Recently retired Senator Ray Perrault was recently spotted on Ingram and I must say he looks mighty aged. His mind and political thinking is sharp, but he looks as though retirement awaits him. Can’t wait for his memoirs.
Speaking of the good Senator’s ‘red chamber’ seat, word is rampant that Iona Campagnolo will be elevated. There was some rumblings out of the Vancouver Sun that Kim Campbell would make a formidable choice. She absolutely would, but I doubt she’d want to leave her love nest in New York where she’s been holed up with the much younger Hershey Felder since vacating L.A. last fall. Then again, the Sun also mused that Allan Fotheringham, blind Craig Oliver and Hugh Windsor were being considered. Foth hasn’t replied to my message so I don’t know of him, but Carole Taylor and Joe Gosnell are also mentioned.
Kudos to Joe Clark for not relenting on hammering away at Jean Chrétien and this BDC stuff. Stock Day and the Alliance are asleep and leave it to good ol’ Joe to rule the day. Keeping plugging away and pointing that finger, Joe. Also, if Catherine would like to have supper with me, have her call.
By the way, for my UBC friends out there: Did Justin Harcourt win your local elections out there? A year ago when standing with his dad, former Premier Mike Harcourt he emphatically said he’d never wade into politics again, but that his son may. He made a splash in the recent campaign running with the rest of those who ran almost-nude. Would like an update, please.
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