Charles Dunlevy – Page 5

2021-04-11

Wrestling Isolation and Winning

Professional wrestling has been a part of my life since as long as I can remember. Some of my childhood friends are related to some very well-known wrestlers. Our community was a wrestling hotbed.

I remember shortly after moving into a low-rise apartment building when I was 7 years young, a caretaker called me “Bobo Brazil”. He asked me if I knew who he was. I had no clue, but he went on to explain that Bobo was a famous professional wrestler.

When I was 11 years young, I received my very own television set for my bedroom. It was there that I discovered professional wrestling on Saturday mornings. It became tradition for me to watch wrestling in the morning and Toronto Maple Leafs hockey in the evening.

I was immensely entertained by the antics of the “Boogie Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant and became a fan. At that time, I believed that wrestling was the real deal and would get really upset whenever I watched Boogie Woogie Man get jumped by villains such as “Russian Bear” Ivan Kolof and others. I remember wanting to head downtown to Maple Leaf Gardens to help Boogie Woogie Man.

During this early period, I became a huge fan of not only Boogie Woogie Man, but also “Rowdy Roddy” Piper, Black Jack Mulligan, and the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair. I was hooked and could never miss an episode.

I recall going shopping with Mom and in addition to my usual plea to go to the book store, I also wanted to go to a variety store in Towne & Country Square to buy wrestling magazines. This store had the best selection. I would get lost trying to decide which one to buy since I could not buy them all.

As children, we wrestled a lot in our apartment complex. There was this grassy patch next to the swimming pool which made a good wrestling ring. On one side were steel rails separating the grass from the sidewalk, and the other side was a high chain-link fence securing the swimming pool. We would toss each other into the fence and bounce back as if hitting the ropes in a wrestling ring.

Over the years I would learn that some of my friends are related to Whipper Billy Watson, and others were nephews to Rocky Johnson (late father to The Rock). As wrestling grew bigger in pop culture, so did the fan base on our block.

I remember watching the big pay-per-view events like WrestleMania, SummerSlam, etc with groups of friends at different houses. Everyone on our block was into wrestling. The children, teenagers, adults, and grandparents. It truly entertained everybody and brought us all together.

I never stopped watching wrestling and watch it to this very day. In the year 2020, the world was afflicted by a serious pandemic which pretty much ruined most of our lives. Millions have been thrust into isolation due to various lock downs brought on by the raging virus pandemic.

Covid-19 has destroyed many lives. It has killed millions and wreaked havoc on millions more. One often-overlooked side-effect is the impact on mental health caused by isolation. People are simply losing their minds being unable to socialize as they would like to.

During the first wave of the pandemic, everything was locked down for our own safety and to avoid the hospitals from becoming overwhelmed. This also meant that nobody was allowed to attend professional wrestling events. World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) was forced to put on shows in an empty arena.

I found these shows to be quite awful. The Superstars were great as always, but not hearing fan noise really reinforced the feeling of isolation I was experiencing from being under lockdown.

WrestleMania 36 had to be pre-recorded as they could not have fans in attendance. For me, this was the most boring WrestleMania of all time. There were a few bright spots such as The UnderTaker vs AJ Styles in a cinematic match filmed at a graveyard and Sammy Zane vs Daniel Bryan in an empty arena. The chatter throughout the match was golden.

By summer, WWE had created the ThunderDome. This was an arena were large video monitors were set up in the stands in place of fans. These screens would broadcast fans who were at home watching while on webcam. Fan noise was piped in via pre-recorded sounds from past live events. For me, the programs became watchable once again.

Vaccines have finally been rolling out across the United States. Sports are beginning to accept fans in attendance once again. Our Toronto Blue Jays have been relocated to Florida due to travel restrictions. They have been playing in stadiums in Texas, New York, etc to live crowds. The Toronto Raptors are also based in Florida. The NBA, NHL, and MLB have been allowing fans to return in some jurisdictions meanwhile in Canada, everything remains off limits due to a slow vaccine roll-out.

For WrestleMania 37, WWE was allowed to have live fans in attendance for the first time in over a year. The show was to be held over two nights due to the limit in the number of fans that may attend. They were allowed 25,000 on each night.

The show started off with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon addressing the audience and the entire wrestling roster. It was greet to Mr. McMahon again. He has hardly been seen on television the past few years. The most recent prior to this event was for The Undertaker’s retirement several months back. He looked frail and elderly and it broke my heart. At WrestleMania, he look much better.

Seeing both a live audience and Vince McMahon nearly brought tears to my eyes. It was a sign of a return to normalcy. It was wonderful to sit at home with a pizza, some IPA beers, watching WrestleMania on my big screen TV.

The show was delayed 30 minutes due to rain, but in the end, they put on a fantastic show which made me forget all about the pandemic and isolation. I sat here cheering, laughing, and having a grand old time.

I would like to that the entire professional wrestling industry for putting their lives on the line to entertain us over all these years. The entire industry deserves a round of applause.

Make sure to visit the official website of the WWE by clicking the following link:
World Wrestling Entertainment

2021-03-212021-07-01

One Year

It’s been one year. One year of this Hell. One year of life being placed on hold. This week, local media was busy “commemorating” the one year anniversary of the pandemic being declared in this country.

Over the course of the past year, thousands have lost their jobs. Thousands have lost their businesses. Even less talked about are the thousands if not millions who have lost their minds.

This damned pandemic has turned most of our lives upside down. To make matters worse, the pandemic seems to be far worse in some countries than others. I have colleagues, girlfriends, friends, and wives in other countries where their lives have not been disrupted anywhere near those of us in Canada, USA, UK, Italy, and other nations. This is a mystery that nobody wants to discuss.

Although I am fortunate to be able to work from home, I am also compassionate towards those who cannot work at all. I have friends who are out of work. I have friends who lost their businesses. I have friends who are losing their minds. I am losing my mind.

I always believed that there is more to life than work. Since the damned pandemic, all I have been able to do is work. Yes, I am thankful that I am still able to work, but asides that, there is nothing to do. I can’t even go out for coffee, let alone beer or live music. Everything is closed and has been seemingly forever. I have not been able to work out in my gym for a year.

I sit here day in and day out wondering how this is affecting others. I worry about what people may end up doing as this drags on longer and longer. I myself have had some very bad thoughts. This is not a natural way for human beings. We were never supposed to live in isolation, be it alone or with a spouse. Humans were made to interact with people outside their homes.

The vaccines are rolling out. There seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel… except the pace of the roll out is painfully slow. In the meantime, all we can do is wait. Eventually this shall pass and our lives may return to some degree or another.

I am certain that most of us will suffer lasting effects from this ordeal. Let me be the first to say that if I survive this pandemic, I will never, ever be the same person I was before. The experience of prolonged isolation has had a lasting and permanent impact on my mental state.

Being in isolation showed me that I really am in the world all by myself. My lovely wives are overseas, but I am stuck here alone in Canada’s largest city. I log into Facebook and see nothing but family-related posts from my friends who are spending their free time with their immediate families. I no longer see posts from free-spirited people like myself who live in the limelight and are social creatures. The damned overreaching lockdown has killed social life for us socialites.

I have not signed an autograph in over one year. This is the longest I have gone without doing so. I have not posed for selfies with adoring fans for over a year. The fame and glory that I have become used to over the past decade has all but dried up.

Socialites like me were meant to meet new people every single day. We were designed to be loved by the masses. We were designed to be hugged and kissed by millions and millions when we go out and about. Over the past year, we have been forced to wear masks and avoid any contact with those we do not know. This is akin to dying a slow death.

Speaking of death, yes, we are going there… death is a horrible and depressing topic but one we cannot avoid. The pandemic has had me thinking about my future. Prior to the discovery of vaccines, I found myself thinking, what if there is no cure for this? What if we must live with these restrictions forever? My answer was that I would rather not live if that is how life will have to be forever.

I lost a lot of friends and family who were dear to my heart since I was a teenager. If I have to live the rest of my life avoiding contact with other human beings, unable to travel, I might as well join my dearly departed. I have no intention on spending the rest of my life living as I have been the past 12 months.

I pray to Allah/God almighty that we get out of this pandemic in due time. I pray that we may return to life as we once knew it. More than anything I want to be able to mingle with the masses again. I want to fly around the world. I want this damned pandemic to end. I want my sanity to return.

Speaking of sanity, what about those who are in a worse position than I? The increasing homeless population now consists of people who lost their jobs or businesses because of the pandemic. The increasing number of people who after losing their life savings and businesses have now turned to drugs to ease their minds. The increasing number of people who are now suffering depression.

Those who know me closely are aware of my battles with depression. Since the pandemic was declared, I have found an unbelievable number of friends are now experiencing depression. I try my best to give them tips and advice that work for me. Some of the happiest people I know are now struggling to cope with depression.

Although I have these dark thoughts, I have not yet given up hope. I am working towards the day when I may live my life as I had before. I am looking forward to travelling again. I am still dreaming of the day when I can quit my job and live all around the world. I am still building my company and writing the first two of several books. I cannot depart this world while those projects and dreams remain outstanding.

Before I close this, I must mention that there is one term that makes me throw up inside whenever I hear it. “We are all in this together.” I have never heard a more cringe-worthy term in my life. It borders on a downright lie. Everyone has been affected in different ways by this damned pandemic. Some of us are isolated without our families and wives by our sides. How the Hell can you look at people like us and say, “We are all in this together”?

One thing I learned during this damned pandemic is that I am here all alone. I am the only person who really matters. From here on in, my number one focus is myself. I love my wives and I am separated by them not by choice, but by this damned pandemic, but I realize that I must look out for me first. I can worry about everyone else later. Some might call me selfish. I might say, “to Hell with ya” in response.

I have endured a lot of death, accidents, and tragedies throughout my life. Each event added layers to my mental scars. The pandemic has just added several more. There is no cure. No turning back. Just accept what I have become or you know where to go.

I hope to God that next year we can enjoy the finer things in life… dining with different lovely ladies 5 nights a week, dancing in night clubs, relaxing at cafes, working out at the gym, watching live theatre, participating in cultural festivals, travelling around the world, and many more.

Until then, let us all continue to practice this awful but life-saving thing called social distancing. Let us hang in there a bit longer. I will see you all again sooner rather than later. Stay safe.

2021-03-05

Google is Your Friend, So is Talk Radio

During these times of isolation, I am forever thankful for an old school medium called talk radio.

I started listening to talk radio when I was 10 years young. I had crawled into bed and was scrolling through the radio for something to listen to. I stumbled upon what was then known as CFRB 1010.

Fast forward to adulthood and I am still listening to that very same station, now known as NewsTalk 1010. I also began listening to another station called 640 Toronto when I started working at what was then a small software company start-up.

I would alternate between music, NewsTalk 1010, and 640 Toronto during my shifts at work. Talk radio had been helping me get through my workdays for as long as I had a career in the software industry.

The year 2020 will go down in history as one of the worst years ever. An awful pandemic swept around the world and impact all of our lives. I found myself isolated at home all alone. I was fortunate to be able to work from home.

During isolation, I had some trusty and reliable friends to help me get through the hard times. Listening to talk radio while I worked at the computer helped me feel like I was not alone. It helped me feel like I had friends with me in my beautiful home.

During the early days of the pandemic, I found myself feeling really depressed and worried about the future. Eventually I started getting tired of listening to talk radio. The hosts were just as grumpy and worrisome as I was. I wanted to quit listening and actually did shut the radio off several times.

I realized that the hosts are people just like you and I. The pandemic affected them just like it affected you and I. The constant complaining and negativity by some of the host was not unlike those exhibited by the rest of us.

I continued listening to talk radio and feel as though the hosts are my friends. They have been invaluable in making me feel like I am not alone.

I would like to thank all talk radio hosts for providing a fantastic service to the public. I thank them for making me laugh, making me think, making me reflect, even making me cry. Toronto and area has a great set of talk radio hosts.

Thanks to my friends Jim Richards, Mike Stafford, Jerry Agar, John Moore, Ryan Doyle, Jeff McArthur, John Oakley, Kelly Kutrara, Alan Carter, Jamil Jivani, Richard Crouse, Jay Michaels. I am forever thankful for your service and how you keep me company during these trying times.

NewsTalk 1010
https://www.iheartradio.ca/newstalk-1010

640Toronto – Global News
https://globalnews.ca/radio/640toronto/