The Final Call by Kerry Fraser Page B

now a Canadian senator, considers his greatest games.

NHL=NO
HOME LIFE
    O ne of the realities of being a member of the “third team” on the ice is that, unless you live in a National Hockey League market, you never have a home game. Over the course of a season, we log between 120,000 and 150,000 miles in the air. Elements of it can be very enjoyable: getting to see some of the greatest cities in North America (and sometimes Europe) is a definite perk, especially when you get to bring your spouse or family along. It’s the getting there that is not all it’s cracked up to be. Since 9/11, travel has been much more difficult and taxing, both mentally and physically, than ever. NHL officials deal with the long security lines, flight delays, and winter-weather issues on pretty much a daily basis for 10 months of the year. Trust me when I say it’s not the life of a jetsetter! The road warriors of the business world know exactly what I’m talking about.
    We joke in the officiating business that NHL really stands for
N
o
H
ome
L
ife. In a month such as January, I might be home for 10 out of the 31 days. The place setting at the head of the table in an official’s home is often unoccupied for birthdays, anniversaries, First Communions, Thanksgivings, and just about every family function except Christmas. (Until 1971, there were even games onDecember 25, but the NHL Players’ Association gained that concession.)
    That degree of absence doesn’t always make the heart grow fonder on the home front. I can attest to this first-hand, as my first marriage ended in divorce. I was only 20 years old and too young to understand what love and commitment were all about, especially as I immediately entered the world of professional hockey officiating. I wasn’t alone in this regard. More than a couple of guys over the years have come home from a trip to find an empty house. In many cases, not only was the official’s wife gone, but all the furniture as well, right down to the curtain rods. The wife of one fellow in the early 1980s was at least decent enough to leave his place setting on the floor in the dining room where the table and his chair used to be.
    My point is it’s not an easy life for a wife or family. It takes someone special at home to provide stability, love, and balance, both for the kids and the husband. I was blessed to have found all that and more in Kathy, my true soulmate. Kathy and her three beautiful young daughters accepted the proposal from me and my three young sons and we were married in June 1988, effectively becoming the “Brady Bunch.” In December 1990, Kara Marie Fraser was born and then there were seven!
    I couldn’t ask for a better head of our household than Kathy. She has taken care of paying all the bills, handling all calamities (which always seemed to happen when I was away), and raising our beautiful children to be good, successful people. She has provided love, warmth, and support to all of our children and grandchildren, seemingly as a single parent. Often, she had to be in two places at once while I was away. It was common for her to run from a high school field-hockey game for Jessica or Jaime to a college field-hockey game that Marcie was in, or Ryan’s wrestling meet or Ian’s hockey game.
    When our daughter Jaime was preparing to receive her First Holy Communion, we set the date—with the co-operation of thepastor, who was very accommodating—to suit my playoff schedule. The day before this very special event, I got a phone call from Bryan Lewis, the director of officiating, telling me that one of my colleagues was injured and I had to travel to Edmonton immediately. To this day, it breaks my heart to see the family album with pictures of Jaime in her beautiful white dress and veil—and big, red, sad eyes.
    But such is the reality of the life of a referee. Kathy never complained, she just kept on giving, loving, and caring. She is the true hero in our family.

    When you travel as