Terry Would Agree

A few weeks ago, BC's Pavilion Corporation announced that the Terry Fox Monument at Vancouver's distinctive BC Place Stadium will be destroyed as part of the renovations that are taking place at the venue.

 

I am surprised by my happiness over this destructive decision, for I have a nostalgic side that is comforted by the preservation of monuments and heritage structures. However, I always thought that the BC Place Terry Fox Monument clashed with the stadium, reeked of Eighties imprudence, and did very little to  celebrate Terry's life.
 

I visited the BC Sports Hall of Fame about a year ago because a friend of mine was working there with the Marketing department. It was the first time I had been, despite growing up fifteen minutes away from the attraction, and I was surprised by some of the items that they possess. They have Rick Hansen's original Man in Motion wheelchair, and the artificial leg that Terry Fox so depended on during the Marathon of Hope. I am not a very emotional person - I didn't cry during Life is Beautiful and I've been told I have "intimacy issues" more than once - but I did get teary-eyed over the Terry Fox display at the Hall of Fame.  As mentioned, this display is built around Terry's prosthesis. I suppose my reaction was primarily due to the fact that Terry's courage, persistence, and unnatural determination were transferred from Canadian legend and historical fact to a single, tangible object that was then right in front of me. Terry Fox is the Chico Mendes or Clara Barton or Sadako Sasaki of Canada, actively working towards improving the world in the obdurate face of pain, and death. He deserves more than a cheesy, small, narrow, tiled archway.