The search for my brother ...

The search for my brother began one freezing morning in 1981 when Ronald and some friends decided to drop in at Earlton, south of Timmins. The temperature was minus 42. Ronald was with about 950 other soldiers doing a parajump. Since I knew he was visiting Northern Ontario, I knew I had to be a good host and find him. So I drove to Earlton, but believe it not, as I approached the area where the jump was, I was stopped by soldiers in an armoured vehicle. That’s my tiny little Dodge Omni in the photo. Once I explained what I doing, they let me proceed.
Before long, there were dozens of C130 aircraft overhead dropping people and material on parachutes. One of them was Ronald. He was out there somewhere. So I began walking along through the drop zone, where there were hundreds of soldiers getting their gear together and forming up into groups. I kept asking if anyone knew Ron… many did. And they kept pointing me in various directions. Sure enough, I eventually found him… he was outside his tent making tea. So we chatted a bit and then decided to go into town for a beer. The problem was that Ron was not allowed to leave the drop area. No worries. He laid down in the back of the car and we drove out. We had a beer in the local tavern, but Ron’s main mission was to find a grocery store, so he could buy a few extra things and junk food. I am sure his buddies wondered where he got all the extra stuff.