Alan Dolan Memorial

My Mother, Sharon Chambers, is Alan’s cousin. However, that has always felt awkward and insufficient to explain my connection to Alan and Susan.

My memories of Alan and Susan feel like a continuous conversation in kitchens and around food-filled tables that weave together time and landscapes along the West Coast.

I think we first met in Victoria, probably in 2001 or 2, I had finished my Master’s at UVIC, and my mom made a rare West Coast visit. I remember that it was at the house on the block in Victoria with edible chestnuts. I have this image in my mind of my mother showing Alan a stack of photos. As she explained them, I felt that Alan looked at me as if to say, “But who are you?”. 

I immediately sensed that Alan and Susan had more in common with me than with my mother, a cousin, and peer-in-age. 

And indeed, we did. 
· We had attended Queens and spoke fondly of the greater Kingston landscape. 
· We had come west to the sea, mountains, and lush forests – and if I recall correctly, none of us had any particularly solid career opportunities. 
· Alan and I both had the privilege of working with First Nations communities.
· We loved music – all kinds.
· We cared about the planet and community.
· We tracked world politics and were willing to argue about them.
· We read widely. 
· We loved food, gardening and cooking. 

That initial shared meal led to others when I would come back from UC Davis and visit them in Victoria and Sidney. And through the sharing of food in my home as they made stops in Portland on their way down to or back from seeing Stacey, Joel, and the kids. I am eternally grateful for those visits.

The times with Alan and Susan, and the letters and emails exchanged in between, repeatedly showed me that perhaps there was another way to be. 

Two roads diverged in a wood, and they –
Alan and Susan took the one less traveled by,
And for me, their example of choosing the path less traveled has made all the difference.

Kimberlee Chambers