Keeping A Stiff Upper Lip

My kids won't kiss me.  Neither will my wife. I can still taste morsels from lunch hours after I've eaten. Man, the things I do for Jack Layton!Joking, of course. This is "Movember" and some 80 MPs have grown moustaches for the month in order to bring awareness to prostate cancer and to raise money for its eventual cure. When someone approached me mid-October to consider festooning my upper lip with bristle, I was initially hesitant, only because I had one when I was younger and didn't take to it. But then I looked farther down the Opposition lobby and there was Jack Layton commiserating with some of his caucus, and, given his own courage on this matter, I realized I had no choice: Jack was worth it, not only for his family but for all of us in the House of Commons.It's amazing how a cause can get to you when you know someone who is going through a challenge that relates to it. And when they handle it with the dignity and openness of Jack Layton, those around you are suddenly able to broach a subject they would normally avoid. Jack has that effect. When he first arrived in the House after he announced his own discovery of prostate cancer, we all stood up, unprompted, because a dignified survivor was in our midst. But he was more; he was a overcomer and he taught us, as men, to be open to be tested and to take responsibility for our own health.There were votes in the House tonight and I grabbed Jack as he walked by, asking for a picture (which you see here). He was so amenable to it, that when we asked my good NDP friend Pat Martin to take the picture, a number of opposition members looked on in a bit of surprise. I thanked him for his graciousness and moved to my seat for the vote. A Liberal colleague friend of mine ventured past whose father has been sick with prostate cancer for some time. I told him I wrote both his Mom and Dad to say I was thinking of them. My friend looked at me, saying, "Dad went into hospital today." When I asked if he would be coming out, the pain and confusion on his face was deeply moving to me.Of course, the secret of good politics is to imagine yourself in the shoes of those you are passing legislation for. Jack Layton has put that to practice in real terms, in the process ennobling the House of Commons with compassion, grit and determination. You'll notice some similarities in this picture - the smiles, the bald heads, and, of course, the moustaches. But the similarities stop there. By the very way he has responded to his challenge, Jack Layton is already way out of my league - a remarkable man living a remarkable life in a remarkable age. Good on you, Jack. I just have to keep my bristly stiff upper life for one month as a token of support; you must embrace yours with dignity for the foreseeable future. Thanks for casting some of that dignity and respect about the House so that some of us can be inspired to live better - and healthier - lives.