- Todd Butler
- Feb 28, 2024
On a recent trip to Vancouver Island to see my daughter and three grandkids I was approached by a man in the Royston Pub who said he was surprised to see me because he thought I was dead. This happened at several other locations in the following days. “I thought you died” announced a bewildered Canadian Tire employee as I searched for parts for our broken-down camper. “Nope” I told him “ the rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated”. In fact I am alive and well and living in Alberta, the province of my birth, in a cabin on a lake that I built without power tools from recycled fence boards and salvaged lumber. It seemed the right thing to do after surviving three horrible years with liver cirrhosis and nearly dying several times.
Thanks to the love of an anonymous donor and his family I am living my sixth year with a new liver. I found my soul mate online and we are happily married and living without power or running water. Her willingness and fortitude to live in such a way was instrumental in my falling in love with her. I am still playing guitar and doing some gigs in the Edmonton area but no longer craving world domination as a life goal as my frequent appearances at various senior centers and legions will attest. I do hope to play more music in the Comox Valley in the future, likely when we are out visiting grandkids, and I hope that anyone who still doubts my continued existence will come out and say hello then!