BUILDING OUR OWN SOLID FOUNDATION

By Miles Patrick Yohnke

© 2023 All Rights Reserved.

"If you can change your mind, you can change your life." - William James

Do you find your mind overwhelmingly excited for this day that presents itself? Do you find yourself entirely engrossed in your own life? Do you find yourself exhilarated to constantly learn with the hopes of building a better today for the people of tomorrow?

On April 12, 2023, would have been my father's 94th birthday. Tragically he was killed when he was 39 years, 6 months, and 5 days old. At the time, I was 5 years and 6 days old.

Miles Patrick Yohnke, 2023, a few weeks before his 60th birthday. Photo by Indigo Brodie

My father has been with me every day since. I've drawn upon his example of meeting the day so that my days have meaning. I learned from his horrific accident that this day before me is a real privilege and not something to waste.

October 17, 2022, marked 54 years since my father was taken from me, my older brothers, and my mother. This year have had even more significance as my childhood home was located at 54 Lindsay Drive. It was this home that our parents bought for my brothers and I in April of 1965, and with their parenting and nurturing, built a solid foundation for us.

It was this home that my father left from to go to work on that fateful day, and sadly, he never returned to it.

On Saturday, July 29, 2023, I cycled to Rosetown, over to Biggar, and back to Saskatoon in my home province of Saskatchewan - a total distance of 293kms (182 miles) door to door. To give you a better perceptive the average distance per day in the Tour DeFrance (2023) was 162kms (101 miles). And I didn't do it on my race bike. I did it on the bike shown. This bicycle isn't geared for the highway nor is the 'sit-up and beg' riding position ideal to cut through the wind. I used it to create even more chaos to my body. Photographs by Indigo Brodie

I returned to my childhood home 39 years, 6 months, and 5 days after my mother sold it in 1983 to be greeted by the new owners Lori and Dave. They kindly invited me in and welcomed me back. The home has changed in some ways but the spirit of it is still intact. The hardwood floors are still there along with the bedroom doors which roused my spirit.

Miles with Lori and Dave

This photograph shows the backyard fence my father and older brothers built with their very own hands in the summer of 1965 that still stands today. I'm pictured with Lori and Dave.

Miles Patrick Yohnke, 2023, age 59. The t-shirt reads: "Patience please... a drug free America comes first!" Photo by Indigo Brodie

As a child I'd play in that backyard with an intoxicating imagination of a better tomorrow. I've drawn upon every imaginable feeling that occurred within that house so that all my brothers and sisters would have peace of mind today.

Each and every one of us need to play games within our minds to keep our child-like spirit intact. For myself, and this year of '54' I've made a promise to my father to be better today with hope for the people of tomorrow.

Mike Murphy, guitar player for Grammy, Juno, CCMA & SCMA award winners has written an article titled: "Our Soul Ignitor" and a poem titled: "A Letter from Dad" Within them you'll learn more about my father and mother, the life lessons that they taught that can be applied to us all, along with what I've been trying to champion.

I have also included my own penned articles: "Soul Mining," "Mother of Strength," & "Make Me an Instrument of Thy Peace." These stories of my parents are far more than stories about them. They serve as vehicles to drive home the importance of our own lives.

Francis Lewis Yohnke