It’s been a tough few years, what with climate-related emergencies, COVID, protests, the doctor shortage, war, shortages of gas, food and toilet paper, and even more COVID.
There are times when it seems that all the news is bad, and that nothing will ever get better. When that happens, it’s time for more Jack Knox.
That brings me to the point at hand: Jack’s new book, Fortune Knox Once, is out, and it should be considered essential reading for everyone on the Island, and for the smarter ones on the other side of the moat.
I’ll admit to being biased here. I have worked with Jack for more than a quarter of a century, I’ve probably read more of his columns than anyone else, and I’ve even contributed an anecdote or two that maybe, just maybe, made it into this book.
But setting aside my predictable point of view, Fortune Knox Once – published by Heritage House and selling for $22.95 — is a great read, in one long shot or over time, in the bathroom or in bed or wherever we feel the need to let the cares of the day slip away.
It’s an antidote to all the misery out there, and as Jack says, more or less, that was one of the reasons he wrote the book.
“I wrote Fortune Knox Once 1) to feed my massive ego and 2) because after almost three years of fear, anxiety, doomscrolling and day-drinking under the bed, we all need to turn down the thermostat,” he says.
“Mostly I write humour because I can, because it will make people laugh just like old Eric Nicol and Jim Taylor columns made me laugh when I was younger.
“It makes me feel good when the columns make readers feel good.”
(A special note to readers not yet retired. Nicol was a humour columnist and Taylor was a sports columnist with a twinkle in his eyes. Both are legends in British Columbia journalism.)
Humour? In a newspaper?
Our detractors like to say that bad news sells newspapers, but I don’t believe that. A lighter touch is essential. Even with hard topics from time to time, readers might still find a reason to smile.
Fortunately for both of us, Jack agrees.
“I have long thought that news media have a responsibility to avoid painting an unrelentingly negative and soul-destroying picture that skews the public’s view of the world,” he says.
“We shouldn’t ramp up the fear and anxiety to the point that readers lose perspective. Reading your newspaper shouldn’t give you a stroke; it’s bad for circulation.
“I’m not saying we should ignore the grim stuff, or fiddle while Rome burns, or candy-coat reality. I am saying we need a balance, a reminder that there is light as well as dark.”
As with Jack’s previous three books, Fortune Knox Once is basically a collection of columns originally published in the Times Colonist. Basically, because Jack has updated them and made them more relevant to today’s audience.
I read them all the first time around, as have many of you, but in the book, they do not seem stale or dated. They are refreshed — and reading some of them a second or third time brought back good memories.
In the book, you will read his take on snow in Victoria (which apparently never happens), the day his car was broken into (he says sorry), death (bicycle for sale, cheap) COVID (sigh) and much, much more.
This book really does give us a sense of optimism, reinforcing the notion that we will get through this crisis, and the next one, and the next one after that.
Don’t just trust Jack on that. Trust his mother, with more than a century of experience of carrying on.
But as Jack says: “We need to turn down the heat, take the air out of ourselves before we explode. If that was important before the pandemic, it’s essential now.
“The angst and rage are off the charts, though that might be related to the Canucks going winless on their first road trip of the year.”
Jack started his journalism career in Kamloops, a few decades ago, but found his place on the pages of the Times Colonist. We are grateful for that.
He says that he has devoted his career to local journalism because he believes in the role it plays in building communities.
“It’s like a neighbourhood pub where people of different backgrounds can trade unexpected perspectives and unconsidered opinion. It’s how we work things out, or at least get to understand each other.
“I’m dismayed by the migration to news sources that are silos, echo chambers in which all we hear are our own voices bouncing back. That just results in wedges that drive us apart. What’s the point?”
Fortune Knox Once will not drive us apart. It helps to bring us together, giving us humour we can share and a sense that we all belong.
We all need a bit of Jack Knox these days. And yes, we need the sense of hope that this book gives us.
Book launch schedule
- Wednesday, Oct. 26, 1 p.m., St. Stephen’s United Church, 150 Village Way, Qualicum Beach. Tickets available from Mulberry Bush Books in Qualicum Beach and Sea and Summit Bookstore in Parksville.
- Wednesday, Oct. 26, 5:30 p.m., Vancouver Island Public Library, 300 Sixth Street, Courtenay.
- Saturday, Oct. 29, 7 p.m., Munro’s Books, 1108 Government St., Victoria.
- Sunday, Oct. 30, 1 p.m., Galiano Oceanfront Inn, 134 Madrona Dr., Galiano Island.
- Wednesday, Nov. 9, 7 p.m., Beban Park Social Centre, 2300 Bowen Road, Nanaimo.
- Thursday, Nov. 10, 6:30 p.m., Duncan Showroom, 133 Station St., Duncan.
- Saturday, Nov. 12, 2-4 p.m., Russell Books, 747 Fort St., Victoria.
- Friday, Nov. 25, 7-8 p.m., SHOAL Centre, 10030 Resthaven Dr., Sidney. Tickets available from Tanner’s Books.
- Saturday, Dec. 10, 1-3 p.m., Bolen Books, Hillside Shopping Centre, Victoria.
