What’s Important? Just Ask Joel

Sometimes, all you need is to put things in perspective. Sometimes life puts them into perspective for you. This is one of those times.

Joel Bancescue is a 26 year-old carpenter who has worked in the film industry in Regina, Saskatchewan for the past few years on several projects including Corner Gas, Tideland, Surveillance, Ferris Wheel (now titled Sleepwalking) and The Englishman’s Boy. On Sunday, July 22nd, 2007 Joel dove off the dock at a beach and fractured his C4 and C5 vertebrae. He has since undergone surgery to fuse the vertebrae and prevent further injury. The Regina Leader-Post story is here. His inspirational blog is here.

Although we’ve never hung out off set, here’s what I do know about Joel. He loves his new Blackberry. On the set of Surveillance I asked him about how the email syncing works and how much the data plan is. I know that he always says hi and asks how you are doing. Joel always has a smile on his face, whether he’s flying a wall or drilling a hole. He’s one of the most down to earth people you could ever meet. The last time I saw Joel he was unloading 2×4’s off a pickup truck on the set of Finn On The Fly. It’s funny how when you hear about something bad happening to someone you know, your mind immediately flashes back to all the little details. I pray that Joel will be slinging boards, pounding nails and building sets once again. Take care buddy.

Thanks for putting things in perspective for me. Joel knows what’s important, do you?