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Archived ArticlesATribute to David Brison
David Brison, the Frontenac News, and his last daysby Jeff Green In Yiddish there is the word “Mensch”. It does not have a literal translation, meaning different things to different people. Mostly, it refers to an honest, respectful individual, someone who fulfils their commitments and who engages with people in a forthright, caring manner. There is no higher compliment than to be called a “Mensch” by friends and neighbours. For a community, these kinds of people are the hardest to lose, because they show the rest of us how to live. We have lost one of them in this community. I remember a particular day - one of the bad days in this year of bad days. It was in early April and it was an unseasonably warm day. David was setting up a photo shoot. He wanted to get a shot of Bob and Brett Harvey hitting balls onto a frozen Sharbot Lake as a joke to go along with an article we had published for April Fools’. After having an operation in the winter, David was feeling and looking well, and we had all been hoping his health problems would just sort of disappear like ice melting on the lake. An hour later, while David was taking the photo, a phone call came from the medical centre. They were calling David in to discuss test results, and it turned out they had found traces of the cancer. It’s hard to juxtapose the two events that took place on the same day, the one so frivolous and boyish, and the other so devastating. About David’s newspaper days: they really only encompass a small part of his working life, but for a lot of people around here it is when we got to know him through his writing and travelling around the area. One of the most important things David brought to the News was enthusiasm. Even though he had little experience as newsman, he had intelligence, energy, a life-time love of newspapers, and a commitment to the local communities on his side. When David became editor of the paper in July of 2000, there was an immediate change. New writers began writing; the paper became a forum for local ideas, and a force in the community. From the start it was clear that David’s intention was to build up the community by building up the paper. Everyone that has come to work for the paper, all the new writers, Jule, myself, and all the staff, have come in on David’s coattails. We have all bought in to his vision. Throughout David’s illness he kept up his enthusiasm, kept planning for the future, and kept talking about things he wanted to see in the paper. He even made his own medical condition fodder for a discussion of health care reform, and was quoted in the National Press the day after the Romanow report was published. I met with him just before he died and by then he knew he was in his last days. He regretted that he hadn’t been able to read the latest issues of The News, and asked me to tell him what was in it and what was planned in future weeks. This took place even as he was talking about the arrangements for his memorial service. Working at the paper has meant working for David and Jule during their last year together. They have gone through a roller coaster of ups and, mostly downs during that time, but have both handled themselves with clear-eyed dignity and grace. Never have either of them flinched in the face of this. Putting out a newspaper was not something they needed to be doing in the past year. It is probably something they shouldn’t have been doing, but those were the cards that were laid for them and they played them out superbly.
Musings about David Brisonby Bill Rowsome Our lives only lightly brushed the last couple years as we traveled together in concern for the continuance of The Frontenac News. His heart and soul was dedicated to his cause of establishing a community newspaper that would reflect the good events in our communities and suggest improvements to create additional good news. My involvement as a contributor living on the western edge of the paper's geographical area brought me into periodic contact with him. I observed and mused about the foibles of man; he successfully attempted doing something about them.
Miles of his beloved natural wilderness physically separated us; our intimacy, through the magic of computers, was philosophical rather than personal. Now death's divide separates us even beyond the reach of modern communications. I can only attempt to communicate by memory and faith. Fortunately man's mind retains the ability to remember past experiences and emotions; it does help us cope when the final breach is made.
He was a tender man. He gently edited my musing to eliminate the barbs that may have crept into my writing. His concern about the “whole picture” overrode any of the sensationalism that is so common in careless reporting. He suggested negativism be replaced by a positive approach; you don't wallow in despair when there are so many good things on this earth. His guidance shall be missed.
David, whatever the situation, your gentleness, your concern for fellow humans, your inquisitiveness and your skills will be missed on earth. Our world is a better place because of you; be assured your influence will continue.
Davidby Inie Platenius It takes a rare person to build a good community paper, and David was perfectly suited to the task. He understood the importance of truly local news, and he respected the volunteer reporters who provide it. He knew that some jobs cannot be done by volunteers, and he found an excellent staff who share his vision. He understood that an editor should not work in isolation and recruited an editorial board with members whose broad-ranging experience and beliefs rounded out his own. He knew that journalists must be sensitive to how they report volatile events and took pains to avoid sensationalism. Still, he refused to back down from covering issues of importance, no matter how sensitive. I believe that David’s coverage of Sharbot Lake Provincial Court proceedings is in large part responsible for the improvement in that judicial process. He was gentle with lay people, but ruthless with official bafflegab. He had a wonderful sense of playfulness, and encouraged that in our writing.
Working with David meant friendship. There was no such thing as a quick phone call or a brief visit. His vast curiosity and willingness to explore all sides of many issues quickly brought us all into his personal sphere. He loved a good tussle over ideas, and he met contradiction with good will and humour and an open ear. I shall miss those sessions very much.
David’s vision has led the Frontenac News into a new era. I am honoured to be included in that vision, and I’m blessed to have been his friend.
Remembering David Brisonby John MeiselAmong the many remarkable things I value about David Brison, two stand out.
In the first place, he had an utterly constructive attitude. He always sought to dwell on the good, positive aspects of life and build on them. In an era when journalism loves nothing better than to tear down and denigrate, he chose to offer support and encouragement. It was not that he was blind to human failings, but he preferred to stress people’s achievements. Secondly, he had a fundamental and unshakeable faith in the worth of the individual. He respected everyone’s right to live their lives as they saw fit, provided this did not harm others. This tolerance, this live-and-let-live attitude, is a necessary pre-condition of a healthy democratic society. He injected it into all he surveyed and thus helped strengthen the political foundations of our community. As a result of this trait, he listened to what others were saying and enlisted their ideas when he thought them worthy. It was this that led him to create the editorial advisory group – which brought us together – and to use it so effectively. We owe a huge debt to David, one we can best discharge by remembering his guidance and by doing what we can to perpetuate his style and his work – the News.
Tribute to Davidby Ankaret DeanDear David, now you have left us I realize that there are things I should have told you. Why did I not mention how much I admired you for taking on the onerous task of a small community newspaper and making it a real newsy newspaper? A weekly paper with guts, ideas, environmentally friendly and open to new ideas. Why did I not tell you that I enjoyed your big smile and enthusiasm? Why did I not say how much I respected your happy family and your soft spoken wife? You made the world a better place while you were here. May the ripples you started keep on spreading. We all will miss you, and we join your family and friends in our sorrow; you will continue to be our inspiration. Rest in peace, dear David.
David Brisonby Helen Forsey
David shone. It was not just the twinkle in his eye, or the warmth of his understanding, or the wonderful energy and creativity he brought to everything he did. It was, perhaps more than anything, the enormous interest he brought to everything and everyone around him, an interest that flowed from his deep respect and love for his fellow creatures and the community that he made so much his own. That community stretches wide across the rocky hills of several counties, and the fact that I think of it all now as "our community" is thanks in large part to David himself. In his work with the paper, he bound us together in a web of commonality made strong by the diversity that he was constantly uncovering. As reporter and editor he was a shining light, warming and illuminating the people and places we love, the everyday, as well as the extraordinary, events. As publisher-entrepreneur he was living proof of the potential this community holds, and of the delight that comes from going after a worthwhile dream. And as a friend - well, I knew him only slightly, but knowing him has moved and comforted and challenged and changed me. A few weeks ago we talked for a while on the phone. It was one of those "real" conversations, with the groundedness and balance that David made so easy, even when things were hard. I asked him if he ever felt angry about his illness. Though I don't remember his exact words, his answer will stay with me always. I hope that I can live my life, and some day leave it, in that same spirit of love, openness and acceptance. David touched my life with his light and that light shines on.
David's Legacyby Gray Merriam
Today we lost a strong supporting member of the local community. David Brison cared about this community and he worked diligently at producing a newspaper that would strengthen the community. David recognized that understanding by members of the community of each other, and of actions affecting them ,was a most important way of bonding us all together. He worked tirelessly to get the pages of The Frontenac News to generate that understanding. David was driven by the hope that The News would become an important member of our community. I first met David after I sent to him some diagrams and notes that attempted to explain how the water in our wells and in our lakes was connected to water in the oceans and the atmosphere around the globe. We had lunch and he proposed a series for The News to explore water as an important part of our local environment. After many years writing scientific papers, largely unintelligible to many, I needed patient steering to write for The News. David made it easy and made many of us feel really involved with his hopes for the paper. David made The News an important member of our community and left a valuable legacy for us all.
Photos of David (click for larger view)
High School graduation
'Boom Boom' Brison goes for
the hoop
David with grandson Jeffrey
