Nickelback made a quick stop in my second home, Calgary tonight. The larger than life band
was taking part in a benefit concert to help with flood relief after the
massive flooding that occurred in Alberta earlier this summer in June. Raising
$1.5 (early night-of results) million dollars at the concert alone, community
fundraising has been a huge part and a massive success to help get life back to
normal in parts of Alberta hit by the flood. Life continues to be far from
normal for the thousands who lost homes, businesses and property because of the
floods; but the fundraising has been a valiant effort to show neighbourly
compassion in a city not known to be incredibly warm.
I
was still living in Calgary when the flood struck. Our home was unaffected, we
had minor sewage problems; but I took part in collaborative efforts to help
dig-out of the mess left in the floods path. I helped dig out homes that were
consumed by muck; I helped rip down walls that were ruined by lakes of run-off
water from the raging river and I saw countless people having to throw out
their most treasured belongings covered in the muddy brown ooze. As
heartbreaking as that was in all my time living Calgary I had never felt
connected to the city, I had found it cold and harsh in comparison to my East
Coast roots. In the rebuilding from the flood things changed, I felt a
connection with Calgary; something I never thought would happen.
Standing
in a line with thousands of other people the first day volunteers were being
called in at MacMahon stadium I saw the goodwill and graciousness of a city I
thought was pretty hard. Too many people showed up to spend their day doing
manual labour, getting dirty without the comforts found in our developed world.
Without the promise of food, water or washrooms people left MacMahon by the bus
load and then when the buses were gone people left with strangers in their own
vehicles to the muster points throughout the city. Food trucks were on sight
before everyone left to fill volunteers stomachs with free food, but what was
even more surprising was the good will on the streets.
Mothers
stuck watching children while everyone else dealt with the wreckage toured the
city with BAGS of food, passing it out to anyone and everyone in need. One
family approached us with bags of fast-food burgers to hand out to people
working on site. Companies brought their stock of bottled drinks to the front
lines, dropping off flats of drinks to areas hardest hit. Sandwiches, cookies,
coffee, doughnuts, muffins and other goods were brought from homes in the
unaffected areas of the city to the crews working to help make even a small
difference in the hardest days of the Alberta Flood.
This
is just my personal experience with Calgary’s flooding. I completely understand
there was much more bad than what I saw, but there was also so much good. I am
sticking to my own account of the Flood, just to give a little background to
the topic. I was there, as a new grad my heart broke for a 22 year old fellow
new university grad I worked with. We emptied his new basement apartment that
that been filled with the river; it was full of a muddy sludge that ruined all
of his belongings. Everything he had worked so hard to earn was gone, including
his university degree diploma that had been hanging at eye level on his wall.
It dripped sludge when it was pulled off the bottom of the muddy floor. I will
never forget that as long as I live.
I
found out that day, the first day of the cleanup efforts, that I had gotten
this job in the Kootenays. At the time I had finally connected with the city I
had started to recognize as home, I was going to have to move. I continued to
help with the cleanup effort for the rest of my time in Calgary, but was soon
off to the Kootenays to start my career.
Now the Nickelback…
I
know that was a lot of background with no mention of Nickelback for my Nickelback commentary. Lots of people are complaining about Nickelback right
now, because they did not want their part of the AB Flood Relief concert
tonight broadcast over the streams. It was what has been dubbed an ‘exclusive
performance’ and I completely agree with the call to limit broadcasting rights
to the headliner performance.
I
get it, not everyone can go to the concert. That’s all right, not everyone
watching the stream is going to pitch in and donate money. All of those people
paying to be at the Alberta Flood Aid Benefit Concert have contributed to the
cause, what is the point of having a fundraising aide like a massive concert if
there is no incentive to going? The best seats in the house for massive
concerts like this are always going to be at home, I think there has to be some
reason, some bonus to being there in person; paying lots of money to have a
drink of water and supper, peeing in a gross public washroom, touching and
smelling strangeness. I agree with having an ‘exclusive performance’ as part of
the concert, I think it was the best idea for a charity event that thousands of
people spent their hard-earned dollars to attend. Wherever you have a person
willing to spend money on something, you will have two people trying to get the
same thing for free.
I
would have loved to have been there, I would have had free tickets so I still
texted a donation. For all the nay-sayers who say, well I donated money so I
should get to see Nickelback Tough ca-ca, stop whining, you have learned your
lesson; be there in person next time. Or, just wait until the DVD comes out and
buy it.
Ripping on Nickelback is a Canadian tradition (as my boyfriend says), people will always have something bad to say because it is Nickelback.
*For
reference, I am not a Nickelback fan. I respect that they make music that some
people like (I do not hate it but it is not even close to being my type of tunes), I think they put on an amazing show; they blew me away at the 2010
Vancouver Olympics. I would never be defending them on a normal day, but in
this case I must say I think they did something smart tonight. It made them
look bad tonight, but it could help further fundraising efforts in the long run
and I think it was in the interest of everyone who took time out of their day
to be there in person and spent some cold hard cash on the event.
