David Waltner-Toews • by Hildi Froese Tiessen • 1

Hamilton Arts & Letters “the desire to find a home for my deep skepticism, a community that would defer to evidence rather than dogma, led me to science. And the desire to re-connect with humanity in some meaningful way led me to literature.” 1. Beginnings David Waltner-Toews and I both remember meeting as insouciant 12-year-olds in the winter of 1960. We were introduced by David’s best buddy Ron, a mutual friend, at an outdoor skating rink on a clear, cold Winnipeg winter night. Twelve-year-olds in those days were quite comfortable hanging out on their own (as I did almost every evening) at our neighbourhood rink, Bronx Park, situated between Henderson Highway and the Red River, and a short block away from where I grew up. We would skate on those sub-zero Winnipeg evenings until we could no longer feel our toes; then we’d retreat into the “shack” where we might buy penny candies at the canteen and then sit on a bench to chat while we tapped our toes on the worn wooden floors until our feet warmed up enough for us to consider returning to the rink.   [  >>>>>  FORWARD ]   + [Distillate © HA&L + Hildi Froese Tiessen {from the Greek bios} -- the course of a life.]