Homegrown will appetize a sense of family and community into our downtown, and will awaken every atom of your senses.
This Saturday September 10th, coinciding with the James Street North Supercrawl, my brother’s dreams will come true.
Although I have known him all of my life, we were well into our twenties before I truly knew what brought out the passions from deep within his soul.
By definition, Mike and I are not brothers. In fact we are second cousins. He is technically my dad’s cousin, but our mothers were very close when we were young kids so we spent a great deal of time together.
We played Planet of the Apes and Star Wars in his Berko Avenue crawl space, street hockey on the school grounds across from his families mountain home where he grew up, hide and seek over several neighboring properties, skate boarded down driveways, and camped together many summers in the general vicinity of Bancroft, Ontario when we were kids.
We had the opportunity to play against one another every two years in minor hockey, including having once had the chance to be teammates – something our coaches went out of the way to make happen. We played at the same arena and went to the same school on the same school grounds since grade 5 when my parents bought their home just around the corner.
I called on Mike almost every morning on the way to school for as long as I can remember. In high school our paths split in two separate directions – apart from playing some high school football together, but there were always those quick connections in school hallways or at parties.
We were different in many ways my cousin and I, but we were family and even being a year apart in age – which seemed like a much bigger deal back in elementary and high school, with different friends and separate interests, being related and part of a family as close as the Pattison’s have always been, brought us together often.
David Rovics at the former Bread & Roses Cafe at the Skydragon Centre. Photo by Lawrence Thomas
Mike is deserving of much of the credit for many of the good things that have happened to me. True, our destinies are of our own creations and in the end it is us that must act on opportunities presented to us, but Mike is a great example of how being around like-minded souls brings out the best in us. How it helps us truly reach our full potential. Whether it’s fellow hockey players or like-minded artists, being around those we can learn from, who inspire us to be better at the things we are passionate about and who enliven the aspects of our soul that drive our enthusiasm to levels only achieved when in the presence of these individuals, those we chose to surround ourselves with play such a substantial role in the development of our inner passions.
Mike has always been confident and funny, and a great story teller too. The way in which he remembers details from his past has always amazed me. There is only one person that I know that can tell a story like Mike, and that’s my 96 year-old grandfather.
Mike has always been great at remembering jokes as well. Whenever I would sleepover at his mom’s house, I would always ask him to tell me a tale or two. We still joke to this day that Mike could say something as simple and silly as hunk-o-junk, and I’d be on the floor laughing. Perhaps it wasn’t so much the words as it was an overdose of chocolate milk, but few people could make me laugh like someone who always felt more like a big brother, than a cousin.
In our early adult years post high school, we more or less lost touch outside of major family gatherings. We both jumped into the work force, had separate friends, and outside interests that lead us on two totally different paths.
Mike was living with his brother when our lives truly converged again in our mid twenties, and he had invited me to a Christmas party the two were hosting. It was then, that I was first introduced to the creativity that existed within the tough-guy exterior that I had always known. I vividly remember thinking to myself as Mike threw ideas my way, that I couldn’t believe I had known him my entire life, and yet I didn’t know that he had any interests in the arts.
From that moment on, we spent a great deal of time in his brothers unfinished basement with a video camera and piles of blank paper – talking about short film ideas and other creative ventures.
Eventually we moved on from the basement, and Mike and I would spend likely the equivalent of an entire year of our lives at Binbrook Conservation area with our old dogs and it is because of him, that I fell in love with that space within our community. He taught me so much about life during those quiet moments our minds wondered as our dogs ran carefree. I remember watching amazed as he would clean up other’s garbage from the conservation grounds and other places we hiked with our dogs, and it’s something I have carried forward as my new pup and I hang out in the park.
Before I had children, I once again lived within close walking distance to Mike for 3 years in the Dundurn and Aberdeen area. It was during this time that he and his partner introduced me to things like dog groups, or the rewards of getting involved in the community. They even introduced me to an orange tabby that turned me into a cat lover.
So many of the dreams that Mike is now looking to implement in part at Homegrown, were born from entire days exploring every inch of the conservation grounds, including walking the whole of the frozen Lake Niapenco surface. His mind never stopped and the way he told the tales of his creative wonderings, I knew that given the avenue to explore these thoughts, he would realize his passions and go far with them.
Until recently, you could possibly say that nothing ever came of all those early dream sessions in basements and in wide open spaces. That is until Mike first told me about the possibility of taking over the main floor of the Skydragon Centre and what his aspirations were for the possible business venture. That is until this dream of proprietorship started to take shape. Until I seen his entire aura light up as he shared what he and his business partner were looking to implement into the business model of Homegrown Hamilton.
My brother’s dreams are coming true. I look back at a couple of guys sitting in old chairs, under fluorescent lighting, staring at pink insulation and a pile of empty beer cases, and then I have watched these past weeks as Mike and his team have transformed the main floor of the 27 King William Street building into what visitors will see this weekend and once again, Mike inspires me.
He has worked very hard these past years that he has been involved in the Skydragon Centre. His body almost broken from labour, his emotions stretched to the limit with the tough times the Dragon fell on through various points of their existence, yet he stuck it out. It hasn’t been easy on his young family either but Mike never gave up. His family has supported him and all of the literal blood, sweat and tears, have now all proven to be worth it.
Mike is someone who loves people. He loves the earth and animals and community. He and his family are living examples of how much our communities can bring to our families from picnic in the parks with neighbors and friends alike, to having someone different every night over for dinner and sharing in the duties of cooking and cleaning and taking care of one another’s children.
Homegrown will appetize a sense of that family and community feel into our downtown, and will awaken every atom of your senses to bring it all home.
Mike isn’t new to proprietorship, including this not being the first time that he has tried to run a business downtown. His first attempt literally fell through the downtown cracks of our then seemingly hopeless core.
Downtown has changed substantially since then, as has Mike’s knowledge in the industry and his connection to downtown and the community in general. I believe that everything in life happens for a reason, and those reasons are what have brought him to today. No sleep, a million and one last minute things to do, yet all for a dream that is about to come true when the Homegrown doors open for a sneak peak tomorrow.
Today, we are both the proud fathers and step-fathers to a combined 5 girls. We live in separate ends of the city, but we are closer than ever. Even today, so much of how I have evolved as a writer and a more confident person, is due in part to Mike. He introduced me to my band mates. He is the reason my dream of playing in front of a live audience came true. He is the reason in a round-about way, that I submitted my first article to the local online media outlet Raise the Hammer.
The right support group can directly or indirectly help us realize our full potential – help us be the ‘us’ we feel that we are inside. Mike is one of those people to me and the fact that he is blood, makes that connection all that more special.
We have been on many adventures together whether south of the border in a beat up old mustang, a van full of dogs, up to the quiet country north, or to see the first ever World Series game in Canada.
Most of our new adventures include our 5 girls now, and I know that our children appreciate the times our families come together. Relations are important and when that family is one of your best friends and more a brother than a cousin, how can our children not feel serenity in those moments and appreciate the energy of love, respect, and inspiration present as our hands shake in greeting.
It’s true, that others can only open doors for us. It’s up to us to walk through but for so many opportunities that have come my way whether intentional or through association, Mike has been the one holding the door.
I have yet to meet Mikes business partner Tim other than a few brief email correspondences, but I look forward this Saturday, to shaking the hand of a man who has played an important part in making my brother’s dreams come true.
Mike has had my back through sports and school and beyond so for this moment, I need to have his.
Most of what I know in this world is computers, love and words so hopefully through these mediums, I can hold the door open for once as he, his family and his partner, venture on this new path together.
So if you’ll be downtown tomorrow at one festival or another, make your way to 27 King William Street and see how the space has been transformed. Intrigue is promised from coffee connoisseurs to food fanatics, artists and lovers alike.
Here is a link to the event page. Hope to see you there or out and about James Street North.
W e are told throughout our lives not to dwell in the past, yet we study history and are fascinated by it. We can look at Lambeau Field in Green Bay or the newly restored Lister Building here in town, and you get an idea of how communities are recognizing not only the importance of the heritage value in their cities structures, but the monetary value in itself in attracting tourism.
