The Shadows That Skate Beside Every Story We Tell

WEBVTT

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Jim Conrad: Hello, my name is Jim
Conrad, AKA Cono, and this is Conovision.

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On episode five, we present stories
about the dichotomy of us versus them.

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Team good guys versus team bad
guys, ego versus psyche or soul.

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Given our fragile purchase on the
world, given our obdurate dependency,

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given ignorance of alternatives, given
the lack of rational analysis, given

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the imposing immensity of messages
from the information environment, we

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all assemble a false sense of self.

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We call it ego.

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It is not false because we've
lied to ourselves about ourselves,

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but false because it is not
about us, but about them.

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It, the other, something outside of us.

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So we are defined by the other, not
from within, not by divine design,

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but by the otherness of the other.

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Which we cannot fathom, understand,
contain, control, comprehend.

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It's a mystery.

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So we are defined as a reticulated
network of behaviors, attitudes

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towards self and world, and reflexive
strategies designed to get our needs

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met and to manage the anxiety in
whose slipstream we daily stride.

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As most of this assemblage we call
ourselves remains unconscious, we

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can't really address it, at least
not until it becomes conscious.

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The fractious paradox of the unconscious
is that, well, it's unconscious.

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Yet some of us learn that there
is such a thing as our psyche,

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a Greek word meaning soul.

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The psyche embodies the totality
of our being, brain, blood, bone,

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cerebration effect and desire.

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It is who we are.

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Though we can only know ourselves
partially through the limited purview

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of consciousness, yet, it knows us,
minds us, cares for us, corrects us,

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and critiques us when we are off track.

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It never sleeps, never ceases.

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Always standing watch over our troubled
slumber and always registers its

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opinion as to how things are going.

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When from the psyche's purview, things
are going as they should, when we are

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in the towel, it provides us with energy
sufficient for the task and supporting

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the feeling that affirms our daily agenda.

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When we're off track, psyche protests.

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Noisy demonstrations are held
in the amphitheater of the body.

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Streets are blocked in the brain
by rebels from the cane fields.

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Dreams are invaded by spectral
disturbances, effects riot and

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tear down the work of years.

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Meanwhile, the timorous ego, that
nervous nelly of necessity, runs

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from these tumults represses,
splits off projects, procrastinates,

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rationalizes, diverts, and narcotizes.

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But the insurgents dig
in for the long haul.

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Our abdication, our overthrow seems
their aim and our terrors multiply.

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Whatever shaky throne we purchased
at the price of our numerous

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adjustments and backroom deals is our
presumptive treasure and our sanctum.

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Nelly on the throne admits no
faults, and simply orders more

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troops to guard the castle walls.

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This sundered sovereign, ego, will
resist until resistance is futile.

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Depression debilitates, the spouse leaves.

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The cost of the addiction
is way too much troubling.

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Dreams persist until a deep shaming sense
of sham may no longer plausibly be denied.

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Thus, psyche speaks not with tongues
of angels, but with sounding brass,

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and battens our brain and pommels
our person till we collapse, and

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then, possibly, open the door.

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Then, begins the healing, then,
begins the recovery of what was lost

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by the necessary adaptations of ego.

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Then begins the wisdom of
asking what really matters most.

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Attention.

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Alright, listen up, maggots.

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Sir, yes sir. Today I am going to talk to
you about the US versus them mentality, or

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for you brainiacs social identity theory.

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Sir, yes sir. It is a psychological
tendency to view the world in terms

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of an ingroup, us, and an outgroup,
them, often leading to rivalry,

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prejudice, and hostility by idealizing
one's own group and devaluing others.

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Sir, yes, sir. This thinking often
involves creating a negative or

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inferior image of the them group using
stereotypes and ignoring individual

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differences, which can lead to prejudice,
discrimination, and even conflict.

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Sir, yes, sir. While it can serve as
a fundamental part of group identity,

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it's a harmful dynamic in many
contexts, including, but not exclusive

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to politics, workplaces, and what
you call your social interactions.

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Sir, yes sir.

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Here's how it works.

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One, categorization.

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The world is simplified into
opposing groups based on

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differences in ethnicity, religion,
politics, or others shared traits.

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Sir, yes sir. Two,
positive self attribution.

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The us group is idealized, seen
as superior, and holds positive

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beliefs about its members.

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Sir, yes sir. Three, negative othering.

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The them group is devalued and stereotyped
often with negative generalizations

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that ignore individual differences.

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Sir, yes, sir. Four, reinforced distrust.

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This division creates an illusion
of difference and prevents

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connection, empathy, and genuine
understanding between groups.

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Sir, yes sir. Alright.

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Are you with me so far?

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Sir, yes sir. I can't hear you.

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Sir, yes sir. Good.

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Now how about manifestations
and consequences.

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Sir, yes sir. First, polarization,
political divides deepen with each side,

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perceiving the other as an antagonist.

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Second, workplace silos, departments
or teams can become insular, fostering

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competition, and a lack of collaboration.

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Third, social division, it can lead to
scapegoating, hostility and discrimination

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against minority or out groups.

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And fourth, reduced empathy creates an
excessive focus on group differences

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and diminishes compassion for others.

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Sir, yes sir. Now, how do we
break the us versus them dynamic?

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Listen up.

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Sir, yes sir. A, promote collaboration.

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Engage in cross-functional projects
to build understanding between

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different departments or groups.

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Sir, yes, sir. B, encourage inclusivity,
actively include diverse perspectives

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in decision making processes to
prevent cliques from forming.

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Sir, yes sir. C, offer
constructive feedback.

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Challenge us versus them thinking
when you see it taken hold,

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helping to resolve divisions early.

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Sir, yes sir. D, practice empathy.

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Make an effort to understand
the perspectives of those

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outside your own group.

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Sir, yes sir. And E,
focus on shared humanity.

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You must all recognize the common
needs, aspirations, and values

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that unite people, rather than
solely focusing on differences.

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Do you hear me?

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Sir, yes sir. Dismissed.

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Uh, Dennis, uh, I know that
some in our audience don't know

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the finer points of hockey.

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Uh, could you tell them, for
example, uh, what is, uh, slashing?

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Slashing is, um, like that, you know?

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And, um, there's a penalty for that.

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Yeah.

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You do that, you go to the box,
you know, two minutes by yourself

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and you feel shame, you know?

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And then you get free.

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The good old hockey game is the best
game you can play, and the best game you

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can play is the good old hockey game.

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This is the Conovison podcast, and I'm
joined by my good friend Alec Tidey.

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Alec, how are you?

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Alec Tidey: I am great.

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Jim Conrad: Well, how about fine?

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Okay, you're fine.

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You're great and fine.

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Alec, uh, give a bit of a
thumbnail sketch about your life.

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Where were you born and raised?

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Alec Tidey: Well, I was
born in Vancouver General.

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My father bought our first house when
I was just born in West Vancouver.

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So we grew up in West Vancouver.

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My dad worked for Trans Mountain
Oil Pipeline in purchasing

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and he also fixed up houses.

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So we moved quite a bit as he
built and fixed up houses and

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did that in his spare time.

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Jim Conrad: And West Van, uh, back
then wasn't the West Van we know now.

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Alec Tidey: Well, no.

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We called, we lived below the
highway, so it was called the ghetto

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and up in the properties where
all the money was, so, but yes, it

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was a different setting for sure.

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Jim Conrad: Now, uh, growing up,
going to school, you were dyslexic.

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Alec Tidey: Yeah.

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Well, there's a couple of things
that growing up back 69 years ago.

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Uh, one was, uh, the A
D D, H A D, all the DDs.

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I invented that.

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Um, I was outta my seat all the time.

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And I acted out in my fear and had, um,

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Jim Conrad: So because of
your ADHD and your dyslexia,

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you felt alone and isolated?

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Alec Tidey: Well, no.

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Jim Conrad: As a, as a kid?

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Alec Tidey: Yes.

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As a kid.

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And I didn't fit in because I was,
but I didn't realize it back then.

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Jim Conrad: Right.

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Of course you were child, obviously.

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Alec Tidey: I just was going through life.

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But my background or my way
of dealing with it wasn't to

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isolate, it was to act out.

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And I used to put kids in headlocks and
cause trouble in, you know, school not

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knowing what was going on in my life.

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And as I grew, went through grade one,
grade two, Pauline Johnson School, they

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held me back, didn't know what that
was about, but I was never a bad kid.

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I was just active all the time.

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Jim Conrad: You weren't a bully?

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Alec Tidey: Not a bully,
but, don't get me mad.

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And that was inherently built into me.

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I would act out.

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Jim Conrad: Because of the dyslexia
and the ADHD, primarily the

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dyslexia, were you labeled, dumb?

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Alec Tidey: When you can't read, write,
or spell in school, going grade from

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grade 1 into grade 7, 8, 9, I often
got called, oh, you're so stupid, Alec.

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You know, you're dumb.

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And instead of going, oh,
and hiding, I act out.

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That is, you know, something that I didn't
like looking back in my life, but it

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created something for me to deal with it.

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And just like someone that
isolates, there's two different

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ways of dealing with it.

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Dyslexia wasn't known back
in the schools back then.

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It was not identified and
so I got really lucky.

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We joined Hollyburn Country Club and
started swimming and playing hockey.

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I swam until I stepped on the jack
that put a hole in my foot and

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the coach came and pulled the jack
out and made me swim the race.

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And I said, okay, I'm out.

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As I was crying, I was probably
six years old or something.

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And anyway, I went and played hockey
and uh, that was a natural thing for me.

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Very interesting too, is my
grandfather's father was the first

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mayor of Merritt BC and my grandfather,
I've got a picture of, uh, 1915 on

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the Merritt High School hockey team.

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He was a rover and uh, A rover
was the guy that could skate.

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Jim Conrad: Yes.

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Skate better than the rest of the guys.

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Alec Tidey: Yeah.

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Better than the rest of the guys.

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He'd go anywhere over the,
this was back in 1915.

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So I had this ability, which was a gift
from wherever that I could play hockey.

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And I started excelling in that,
uh, a fellow named Greg Neild, his

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family, his mother would rent the ice
or get the ice and we would skate and

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skate and skate as we were younger.

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You know, I'm talking 8, 9, 10 years old.

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Jim Conrad: So hockey became a way for
you to excel and to be part of, because

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you were in school, it was a no go.

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Alec Tidey: Right.

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Well, I've got a couple of stories
about that if you'd like one is,

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yes, when I was 15 I played BC
Junior Hockey in Richmond, so 15, 16.

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So I would miss school for playing hockey
and, um, we'd be on the road or whatever

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and, uh, I'd, come back to school.

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And then the following year was grade 11.

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I had training camp.

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And I missed a week of
school in training camp.

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And then I came back into school
and I got all my books in my locker

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and I went to the first class.

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And uh, the teacher, you know, I
always sat in the back of the class

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'cause I was a bit of a disturber.

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And that's where I would sit.

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And the teacher said, Alec, are
you playing hockey this year?

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And I said, yes.

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He said, well, I don't
want you in my class.

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Jim Conrad: Really?

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Alec Tidey: Yeah.

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And I went, you know what, that's fine.

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And I walked out.

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Jim Conrad: And that was it
for you for formal education?

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Alec Tidey: Well, what happened was the
next class I went to was in English and

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he was always trying to help me in English
this teacher, this was West Van Secondary

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School, and I went into the class again.

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And at the beginning of the class he said,
Alec, are you playing hockey this year?

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And I said, yes.

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And he said, well, we don't want,
I don't want you in my class.

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Jim Conrad: So this, another
teacher said the same thing,

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Alec Tidey: Two things.

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Jim Conrad: Wow.

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Alec Tidey: And I walked
outta the class and you know,

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big, tough Al started to cry.

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And I went and got my books and I took
the books into the principal's office.

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And I was crying.

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He was on the phone and I
walked in and I threw the books.

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And this is what I'm talking about.

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This is how I acted.

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And I took the books and
threw 'em on his desk.

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And I said,

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Jim Conrad: Your school is fucked.

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Alec Tidey: Yeah.

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Fucked.

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I can say it.

00:17:24.855 --> 00:17:30.130
And, and he, he was, he hung up the phone
and I walked out and I phoned my dad.

00:17:30.554 --> 00:17:33.405
And my sister swam for
Hollyburn Country Club.

00:17:33.405 --> 00:17:36.945
She swam in the Pan-American Games
and she went to Sentinel School.

00:17:37.155 --> 00:17:39.344
So he phoned Sentinel.

00:17:39.344 --> 00:17:42.314
He said, okay, Al, told him what happened.

00:17:42.314 --> 00:17:44.235
He said, I I'll phone Sentinel.

00:17:44.235 --> 00:17:46.754
And Sentinel said, okay,
you can come to Sentinel.

00:17:47.084 --> 00:17:50.355
And that's where I got to know
all my friends up in Sentinel.

00:17:50.445 --> 00:17:53.145
I had friends from West
Van, but I went to Sentinel.

00:17:53.145 --> 00:17:58.274
And boy, it was a gift to walk
into that place and start fresh.

00:17:58.574 --> 00:18:01.940
But again, I had a general program.

00:18:01.940 --> 00:18:05.600
I was, you know, woodwork
study, metalwork study.

00:18:07.040 --> 00:18:11.850
I went on all these different programs
and, but we were causing trouble, my

00:18:11.850 --> 00:18:16.880
buddies and I in school up there, and I
don't need to go into that, but finally,

00:18:16.880 --> 00:18:19.550
about three quarters of the way through,
the vice principal came to me and he

00:18:19.550 --> 00:18:20.780
said, what are you doing here, Alec?

00:18:20.780 --> 00:18:21.830
And I said, I don't know.

00:18:22.050 --> 00:18:23.480
He said, why don't you go play hockey?

00:18:23.870 --> 00:18:26.565
And this is another thing about life.

00:18:27.465 --> 00:18:33.825
My dad, I phoned my dad again and told
him what happened and he said, yeah, okay.

00:18:34.575 --> 00:18:40.335
I had, uh, tutors in grade seven, in grade
eight and nine trying to teach me how

00:18:40.335 --> 00:18:43.185
to read, phonically, sounding words out.

00:18:43.335 --> 00:18:44.385
None of it worked.

00:18:44.445 --> 00:18:49.085
Jim Conrad: Because in, in dyslexia
and because it is, common, and

00:18:49.555 --> 00:18:55.534
some people there is a way to, to
work through it and to adapt to it.

00:18:55.834 --> 00:19:00.465
In fact, studies have shown that
a lot of dyslexic people actually

00:19:00.465 --> 00:19:04.754
become overachievers in various
things because of, you know, they're,

00:19:04.784 --> 00:19:06.495
it's basically, I'm gonna show them.

00:19:06.764 --> 00:19:09.815
You know, I was called dumb
in high school or school.

00:19:10.205 --> 00:19:13.094
So, but no, I'm gonna show
them and they overachieve.

00:19:13.245 --> 00:19:15.405
Alec Tidey: I had a little
different feeling of it.

00:19:15.495 --> 00:19:20.765
I had, I lived in the moment,
didn't understand about what I

00:19:20.765 --> 00:19:22.715
should or shouldn't be or do.

00:19:23.225 --> 00:19:26.975
And I played hockey luckily
and turned professional.

00:19:27.185 --> 00:19:27.635
Jim Conrad: Well, let's go.

00:19:27.635 --> 00:19:28.175
Let's go back.

00:19:28.175 --> 00:19:31.655
So, so out of school now you're
playing hockey full time.

00:19:31.775 --> 00:19:33.575
That was in the BC Junior League.

00:19:33.965 --> 00:19:36.455
Alec Tidey: Yeah, so a couple of
things that happened in there.

00:19:36.575 --> 00:19:39.825
I played BC Junior for two years,
and then I went to Kamloops

00:19:39.845 --> 00:19:41.125
and played my first year.

00:19:41.275 --> 00:19:43.765
Got scouted and went and played with them.

00:19:43.765 --> 00:19:47.515
I think I scored 16 goals, but I played
on, it was not a really good team.

00:19:47.515 --> 00:19:49.885
Jim Conrad: So in the, in
the early juniors sphere of

00:19:49.885 --> 00:19:52.345
hockey, this is quite a step up.

00:19:52.435 --> 00:19:52.735
Alec Tidey: Yeah.

00:19:52.885 --> 00:19:55.135
Jim Conrad: To be drafted by
one of these major junior teams.

00:19:55.165 --> 00:19:55.945
Alec Tidey: It is.

00:19:55.945 --> 00:19:56.935
And it's, um.

00:19:57.555 --> 00:19:58.125
You know, it was,

00:19:58.130 --> 00:19:59.295
Jim Conrad: It's a pipeline to the NHL.

00:19:59.295 --> 00:20:01.455
Alec Tidey: It is a pipeline to
the NHL, it's the way you get

00:20:01.455 --> 00:20:02.835
drafted and this sort of thing.

00:20:03.075 --> 00:20:07.115
You know, I can talk about some of the
issues that I had with that, or should I?

00:20:07.295 --> 00:20:09.555
Jim Conrad: Yes, let's
get it all out, Alec.

00:20:09.645 --> 00:20:12.615
Alec Tidey: You know, one of the things
about doing that is following your

00:20:12.615 --> 00:20:17.865
passion and, uh, coming into playing
against 19 and 20 year olds and some

00:20:17.865 --> 00:20:19.455
pretty good hockey players back then.

00:20:19.575 --> 00:20:20.955
So it was a different deal.

00:20:20.955 --> 00:20:25.755
And, uh, you know, I remember, um, one
of the problems that I had in my life,

00:20:25.845 --> 00:20:30.075
oh, and I forgot to tell you about
this, when in high school I got a gift.

00:20:30.510 --> 00:20:34.860
And being outside, looking in all the
time and not fitting in with all of my

00:20:34.860 --> 00:20:38.100
peers, I started to drink on the weekends.

00:20:38.520 --> 00:20:40.170
And what did that do for me?

00:20:40.650 --> 00:20:43.190
It put me on the playing
field with all my friends.

00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:45.600
And they didn't look
at me as a stupid guy.

00:20:46.200 --> 00:20:50.030
I was popular, I was fun, I
was, you know, a hockey player.

00:20:50.030 --> 00:20:54.830
I was, uh, now in the game of
unity with, with friendship.

00:20:54.830 --> 00:20:57.560
Jim Conrad: Being accept, being
accepted through, through drinking.

00:20:57.650 --> 00:20:57.920
Alec Tidey: Yeah.

00:20:58.100 --> 00:20:59.840
And partying and having fun.

00:20:59.880 --> 00:21:05.590
And, uh, it, again, it was something
that turned my character into who I

00:21:05.590 --> 00:21:10.900
am today as opposed to being angry
and feeling outside, not good enough,

00:21:10.900 --> 00:21:14.740
and all the things that school gave me
because I couldn't read, write, or spell.

00:21:14.830 --> 00:21:18.910
Jim Conrad: So now the party culture
gave you an in to be accepted.

00:21:19.060 --> 00:21:19.540
Alec Tidey: Yes.

00:21:19.650 --> 00:21:19.860
Jim Conrad: Yeah.

00:21:20.350 --> 00:21:21.330
And that's very common.

00:21:21.430 --> 00:21:22.360
Alec Tidey: Yep, it is.

00:21:22.420 --> 00:21:27.220
Jim Conrad: Uh, that's why that's kind
of probably the main motivation for kids.

00:21:27.250 --> 00:21:28.240
I know it was for me.

00:21:28.390 --> 00:21:32.165
It wasn't about, I really
wanted to drink or do drugs.

00:21:32.615 --> 00:21:37.040
It was everybody else was and if
I do this, I'll be in the club.

00:21:37.600 --> 00:21:38.429
I'll be accepted.

00:21:38.740 --> 00:21:44.580
And it was more abhorrent to me to be
outside and looking in than any harm that,

00:21:44.639 --> 00:21:46.260
that I thought drugs or alcohol could do.

00:21:46.260 --> 00:21:46.770
Alec Tidey: You know, Jimmy?

00:21:46.770 --> 00:21:49.170
Jim Conrad: So I was kinda like,
yeah, let me into the party.

00:21:49.200 --> 00:21:49.409
Alec Tidey: Yeah.

00:21:49.770 --> 00:21:54.660
Well, you know, Jimmy, the thing about
that is there's good drinkers, good

00:21:54.660 --> 00:21:57.580
partiers, bad partiers and bad drinkers.

00:21:57.580 --> 00:21:57.939
Jim Conrad: True that.

00:21:58.510 --> 00:21:59.730
Alec Tidey: I was all the good ones.

00:21:59.959 --> 00:22:00.810
I had fun.

00:22:00.949 --> 00:22:02.290
Uh, the guys loved me.

00:22:02.290 --> 00:22:07.689
The, I had girlfriends and that
was a gift for this guy to this

00:22:07.689 --> 00:22:10.445
day that opened up my life.

00:22:11.045 --> 00:22:15.305
But along with, comes with that,
I was a binge drinker and, um,

00:22:15.365 --> 00:22:19.129
when I drank, I didn't know how
to go home or want to go home.

00:22:19.595 --> 00:22:23.524
And so I was always out late and
partying and that sort of thing.

00:22:23.524 --> 00:22:24.845
But I didn't drink all the time.

00:22:25.504 --> 00:22:27.004
It's just when I was on, I was on.

00:22:27.245 --> 00:22:31.264
Anyway, I wanted to say that to you
because when I went into my first year,

00:22:31.264 --> 00:22:35.855
junior training camp was a month long,
and then we made the team and or we're

00:22:35.855 --> 00:22:40.455
in the, the game and then the, uh, the
team said, okay, well we got a day off.

00:22:40.455 --> 00:22:41.955
We're gonna let you guys go party.

00:22:42.014 --> 00:22:45.705
So 19, 20 year olds that I'm
going with, we get a bottle of

00:22:45.705 --> 00:22:47.445
Southern Comfort is what I got.

00:22:47.595 --> 00:22:49.725
And, uh, some orange juice.

00:22:49.875 --> 00:22:56.835
And, uh, that's what happened with my type
of drinking and what happened with hockey.

00:22:56.985 --> 00:22:59.765
I stayed out late and got in trouble.

00:22:59.905 --> 00:23:00.745
Jim Conrad: Past curfew.

00:23:00.745 --> 00:23:03.465
Alec Tidey: Past curfew, and
that was the start of it.

00:23:03.524 --> 00:23:06.105
And I wanna say that because
I didn't do that all the time.

00:23:06.660 --> 00:23:09.870
But when I did it, I stayed out
too late and this sort of thing.

00:23:09.870 --> 00:23:15.330
So my first year I, like I said, I've
scored I think, uh, 15, 16 goals,

00:23:15.330 --> 00:23:17.070
which wasn't bad, but it wasn't great.

00:23:17.130 --> 00:23:20.100
And they traded me to Edmonton Oilers.

00:23:20.190 --> 00:23:22.200
Jim Conrad: Now this was
the Edmonton Oil Kings.

00:23:22.200 --> 00:23:24.630
Alec Tidey: Oil Kings, sorry,
you might have to correct me.

00:23:25.590 --> 00:23:27.030
They had a really good team.

00:23:27.030 --> 00:23:30.420
They went to the finals the year
before and I didn't make the team.

00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:34.350
Jim Conrad: And it was
because of the party?

00:23:34.720 --> 00:23:35.470
Alec Tidey: No.

00:23:35.470 --> 00:23:40.210
Um, I think they'd, okay, so this is
interesting because, um, I, I didn't

00:23:40.210 --> 00:23:41.950
make the team and I didn't know why.

00:23:42.040 --> 00:23:45.710
So I went down to Lethbridge and
tried out with Bryan Trottier

00:23:45.730 --> 00:23:47.880
and Brian Sutter, Ron Delorme.

00:23:48.370 --> 00:23:49.300
We had a pretty good team.

00:23:49.930 --> 00:23:53.890
And the first preseason
game, I scored four goals.

00:23:54.430 --> 00:23:59.830
The other thing that I did between
Kamloops and after I finished playing

00:23:59.830 --> 00:24:04.870
hockey in Kamloops, went up to the
Cariboo and my dad built a net with two

00:24:04.870 --> 00:24:09.790
cans in the corners and a, a shooting
platform, and I bought 300 pucks.

00:24:10.199 --> 00:24:15.959
And all summer I shot pucks, after playing
in Kamloops and only scoring a few goals.

00:24:15.959 --> 00:24:20.639
And I went to Lethbridge and I'm up
in, you know, playing with Bryan now,

00:24:20.860 --> 00:24:25.610
Bryan Trottier, Brian Sutter, and we
had one of the hottest lines in hockey.

00:24:26.229 --> 00:24:31.550
Then what happened was they traded
for Terry Bucyk, which Terry Bucyk

00:24:31.570 --> 00:24:35.260
was drafted the year before, and
he was a high draft choice and

00:24:35.260 --> 00:24:36.669
there's money in them there hills.

00:24:36.669 --> 00:24:40.929
I didn't know this, but get a
draft choice that goes for them.

00:24:41.169 --> 00:24:44.480
They get paid more money
for the higher draft choice.

00:24:45.280 --> 00:24:48.490
I started partying and got pissed off.

00:24:49.000 --> 00:24:50.560
Earl Ingarfield was the coach.

00:24:50.560 --> 00:24:56.240
Not his fault, just he put me on
the second line and, uh, I started

00:24:56.450 --> 00:25:00.380
hanging out with the wrong guys and
oh, I, the other thing that I wanted

00:25:00.380 --> 00:25:05.660
to say was when we played against
the Edmonton, I scored three goals.

00:25:05.780 --> 00:25:07.160
Jim Conrad: The team that didn't want you.

00:25:07.160 --> 00:25:11.030
Alec Tidey: The team that didn't want
me, and they interviewed the general

00:25:11.030 --> 00:25:15.420
manager and said, why wouldn't you
have kept Tidey and it says it in

00:25:15.420 --> 00:25:18.000
writing, because he was causing trouble.

00:25:18.870 --> 00:25:19.350
Jim Conrad: Oh no.

00:25:19.380 --> 00:25:19.830
Alec Tidey: Yes.

00:25:19.890 --> 00:25:22.610
Jim Conrad: This was a, a
quote from him on the record.

00:25:22.610 --> 00:25:23.850
Alec Tidey: Why we didn't keep Alec.

00:25:23.850 --> 00:25:24.330
We heard.

00:25:24.390 --> 00:25:24.720
Yes.

00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:26.550
Just that some form of that.

00:25:26.670 --> 00:25:29.850
This is stuff that, you know, when
you're growing up and you're walking

00:25:29.850 --> 00:25:32.419
through it, you don't know what that is.

00:25:32.570 --> 00:25:36.640
Jim Conrad: But your reputation as a
troublemaker was now on the record.

00:25:36.820 --> 00:25:41.260
Alec Tidey: And then I remember
being, after Christmas, I would play

00:25:41.260 --> 00:25:44.620
on the power play with Trottier and
Sutter, but I'd play in the second

00:25:44.620 --> 00:25:48.070
line and I ended up with 42 goals.

00:25:48.179 --> 00:25:51.669
Bryan Trottier ended up with 44 goals.

00:25:51.669 --> 00:25:53.080
I was second in scoring.

00:25:53.169 --> 00:25:59.170
Fighting, I took boxing and I'm
left-handed and talented, so I

00:25:59.170 --> 00:26:01.060
knew how to fight, but I hated it.

00:26:01.330 --> 00:26:02.290
I hated fighting.

00:26:02.470 --> 00:26:05.740
I didn't like the feeling,
I didn't like the aftermath.

00:26:05.830 --> 00:26:10.730
Jim Conrad: On teams there were certain
players that were designated fighters.

00:26:11.210 --> 00:26:13.970
We wouldn't call them goons,
but a lot of people did.

00:26:14.540 --> 00:26:15.390
Were you a goon?

00:26:15.390 --> 00:26:21.354
Alec Tidey: No, and, but I fought the
goons and I, I never lost a fight except

00:26:21.354 --> 00:26:23.094
for one, but that was a long ways through.

00:26:23.284 --> 00:26:28.680
But never got beat up and I hurt
a lot of guys with my left hand.

00:26:28.940 --> 00:26:32.460
'Cause I knew how to hit, knew how
to box, and I knew how to fight.

00:26:32.670 --> 00:26:36.060
But you had to get me really mad
for me to do something like that.

00:26:36.360 --> 00:26:38.280
Jim Conrad: Would a coach
tell you to go get a guy?

00:26:38.340 --> 00:26:38.610
Alec Tidey: Nope.

00:26:39.030 --> 00:26:39.360
Never.

00:26:39.540 --> 00:26:40.290
I wasn't that player.

00:26:40.290 --> 00:26:41.610
I was this goal scorer, right?

00:26:41.640 --> 00:26:43.080
I was a skater, goal scorer.

00:26:43.470 --> 00:26:48.330
And the thing about that is,
you know, to, get drafted, you

00:26:48.330 --> 00:26:49.830
had to have these abilities.

00:26:50.100 --> 00:26:56.900
And so my agent in North Van, I think
of his name, said you know, Alec.

00:26:56.900 --> 00:26:58.370
Jim Conrad: You forgot
the name of your agent?

00:26:58.370 --> 00:27:01.550
Alec Tidey: Uh, just a sec. Its,
uh, that isn't, that's very bad.

00:27:02.150 --> 00:27:02.810
Very bad.

00:27:02.870 --> 00:27:03.740
Jim Conrad: I do as well.

00:27:03.800 --> 00:27:05.210
Alec Tidey: I know, it's coming.

00:27:05.210 --> 00:27:06.290
Jim Conrad: Especially when
they don't work for me.

00:27:06.290 --> 00:27:06.860
Alec Tidey: It's coming.

00:27:07.160 --> 00:27:11.600
But that's because I, I didn't, I
had a few hits in the head, okay?

00:27:11.601 --> 00:27:11.611
Jim Conrad: Okay.

00:27:12.245 --> 00:27:12.695
Alright.

00:27:13.235 --> 00:27:14.044
Alec Tidey: It'll come to me.

00:27:14.315 --> 00:27:18.575
He said I would get drafted in the
low first round, high second round.

00:27:18.625 --> 00:27:18.925
Jim Conrad: Okay.

00:27:18.925 --> 00:27:21.754
So now let's set the scenario once again.

00:27:21.754 --> 00:27:24.145
So now you're playing for
the Lethbridge Broncos.

00:27:24.195 --> 00:27:25.415
You're scoring goals.

00:27:25.475 --> 00:27:26.524
You're a tough guy.

00:27:27.095 --> 00:27:31.085
These are attributes that the NHL, you
know, they, they like, they like the

00:27:31.085 --> 00:27:35.705
fact that you've got good hands, not only
scoring goals, but can handle yourself.

00:27:35.705 --> 00:27:35.975
Alec Tidey: Correct.

00:27:35.975 --> 00:27:37.715
Jim Conrad: You've got a
mean streak as they say.

00:27:37.790 --> 00:27:42.350
And so now you're in Lethbridge and now
it's coming to what year of the draft?

00:27:42.350 --> 00:27:46.040
Alec Tidey: So the end of the year, we
ended up losing out in the playoffs.

00:27:46.070 --> 00:27:47.659
Uh, we had a really good team.

00:27:47.720 --> 00:27:49.970
I scored the most goals in the playoffs.

00:27:49.970 --> 00:27:51.740
We won the first round, the second round.

00:27:51.830 --> 00:27:56.745
Again, playing with Trottier now, again
in the playoffs 'cause we're trying

00:27:56.745 --> 00:28:02.655
to win and then the draft is coming
up and I'm at home by myself in West

00:28:02.655 --> 00:28:09.165
Vancouver, where not many hockey players
came out back then, out of the west.

00:28:09.315 --> 00:28:11.695
Jim Conrad: Okay, so your family
wasn't there watching the draft?

00:28:12.205 --> 00:28:12.425
Alec Tidey: No.

00:28:12.425 --> 00:28:13.695
This was a new thing too.

00:28:14.015 --> 00:28:18.285
Late, uh, or sorry, mid seventies
when this was happening.

00:28:18.305 --> 00:28:20.784
So it was all evolving, the drafts.

00:28:20.784 --> 00:28:22.385
Jim Conrad: It wasn't the
big show that it is now.

00:28:22.565 --> 00:28:24.095
Alec Tidey: No, not, not like it is now.

00:28:24.365 --> 00:28:28.265
But I was watching it and,
uh, third round came along.

00:28:28.835 --> 00:28:29.975
Fourth round came along.

00:28:30.575 --> 00:28:35.580
Fifth, sixth, seventh,
eighth round I get drafted.

00:28:36.270 --> 00:28:37.919
Jim Conrad: Drafted in the eighth round.

00:28:38.219 --> 00:28:43.320
Alec Tidey: By Buffalo Sabres, San Diego
Mariners in the fourth round in the WHA.

00:28:43.439 --> 00:28:46.110
I was shocked and I was uh,

00:28:46.169 --> 00:28:47.789
Jim Conrad: Did you not
expect to be drafted?

00:28:49.019 --> 00:28:51.330
You thought you were gonna
go in the first round?

00:28:51.330 --> 00:28:51.389
Alec Tidey: Yeah.

00:28:51.389 --> 00:28:55.555
Or the second round, like,
Ron Perrick from North Van.

00:28:56.024 --> 00:28:57.135
Jim Conrad: Ron Perrick was your agent?

00:28:57.135 --> 00:28:57.825
Alec Tidey: Yes, my agent.

00:28:57.825 --> 00:28:58.034
Yeah.

00:28:58.335 --> 00:28:59.145
I knew it'd come up.

00:28:59.625 --> 00:29:00.284
Great guy.

00:29:00.495 --> 00:29:03.135
I mean, and anyway,
that, that whole thing.

00:29:03.135 --> 00:29:06.044
Jim Conrad: Now, how much do agents
influence, they're the ones who

00:29:06.044 --> 00:29:08.145
are trying to sell you to the GMs.

00:29:08.315 --> 00:29:10.395
So Ron didn't do a very good job.

00:29:10.425 --> 00:29:13.215
Alec Tidey: Well, that's we, we
would say that, but I think what

00:29:13.215 --> 00:29:17.145
happened was I got the bad name from
our coach and our general manager.

00:29:17.145 --> 00:29:20.175
Jim Conrad: So the reputation
of being a troublemaker.

00:29:20.300 --> 00:29:26.600
And, being put on record by a GM
in Edmonton, like in, in writing,

00:29:26.690 --> 00:29:28.340
you know, quoted in an article.

00:29:28.400 --> 00:29:29.750
Alec Tidey: It starts lathering up.

00:29:29.870 --> 00:29:33.710
Jim Conrad: I guess it speaks to
character, but you can get, you

00:29:33.710 --> 00:29:35.180
can get a bad rap, can't you?

00:29:35.570 --> 00:29:36.740
Did you think you got a bad rap?

00:29:36.740 --> 00:29:37.760
Alec Tidey: There's a couple of things.

00:29:38.010 --> 00:29:41.820
The binge drinker as opposed to a
chronic drinker, doesn't get caught.

00:29:41.820 --> 00:29:44.220
I didn't get caught up in
that I had that problem.

00:29:44.340 --> 00:29:48.389
Or that it was just in the moment I would
stay out and do stuff and then get caught.

00:29:48.389 --> 00:29:49.379
I'll give you an example.

00:29:49.379 --> 00:29:54.360
In Lethbridge, it was three o'clock
in the morning in my little car

00:29:54.360 --> 00:29:58.800
that, I had a little station wagon,
and I was coming down the Cooley at

00:29:58.800 --> 00:30:02.310
three o'clock in the morning, ran
over a deer, and broke his back.

00:30:02.585 --> 00:30:05.255
And I got out and I going,
oh, what am I gonna do?

00:30:05.255 --> 00:30:09.065
And, and then a cop came by at
three o'clock in the morning.

00:30:09.785 --> 00:30:15.605
19-year-old Al is driving his car
intoxicated and ran over a deer.

00:30:15.785 --> 00:30:17.645
So he shot the deer.

00:30:17.645 --> 00:30:18.995
I'll never forget this.

00:30:19.085 --> 00:30:20.315
And he said, you go home.

00:30:20.615 --> 00:30:22.300
Well, what do you think
happened the next day?

00:30:23.100 --> 00:30:26.429
They phoned, they phoned the coach
or the general manager and told

00:30:26.429 --> 00:30:27.449
them what happened, I'm sure.

00:30:27.479 --> 00:30:28.409
'Cause I didn't tell 'em.

00:30:29.030 --> 00:30:32.669
Jim Conrad: At that point in time,
Alec, did you think about changing?

00:30:33.149 --> 00:30:36.209
Alec Tidey: No, not in, I
didn't think I had that problem.

00:30:36.629 --> 00:30:36.780
I didn't,

00:30:36.780 --> 00:30:39.519
Jim Conrad: Even though, even though
there was obvious consequences.

00:30:39.540 --> 00:30:40.379
Alec Tidey: Yeah, it's funny isn't it?

00:30:40.385 --> 00:30:44.880
Uh, and maybe I, maybe I looked
at it and went, oh well, you know.

00:30:44.910 --> 00:30:45.660
Jim Conrad: You're 19.

00:30:45.750 --> 00:30:46.110
Alec Tidey: Yeah.

00:30:46.680 --> 00:30:51.990
I, might've looked at, I, honestly didn't
think about that problem being a problem.

00:30:52.050 --> 00:30:55.580
Jim Conrad: So, drafted by San Diego in
the fourth, by the Sabers in the eighth.

00:30:56.060 --> 00:30:57.900
Who did you decide to go with?

00:30:57.900 --> 00:31:02.040
Alec Tidey: Ron Perrick said to me,
Alec, if you go with Buffalo, they

00:31:02.040 --> 00:31:06.870
played in the finals with, I think
it was Montreal and, uh, they had

00:31:06.870 --> 00:31:08.630
a really good team and he said,

00:31:08.630 --> 00:31:09.360
Jim Conrad: Gilbert Perreault?

00:31:09.360 --> 00:31:11.660
Alec Tidey: Yeah, Perreault,
Martin, Danny Gare.

00:31:12.180 --> 00:31:12.930
Jim Conrad: That was the big line.

00:31:13.170 --> 00:31:14.460
Alec Tidey: Oh, great team.

00:31:14.880 --> 00:31:17.080
Jim Conrad: Oh, so he
said go to San Diego.

00:31:17.490 --> 00:31:21.149
Alec Tidey: Go 'cause you'll play,
you'll get ice time if you go to Buffalo,

00:31:21.149 --> 00:31:22.659
you go down to the minors, right?

00:31:22.659 --> 00:31:27.389
And so I went to San Diego
and uh, this is wild.

00:31:28.050 --> 00:31:31.020
So I'm down in San Diego in
training camp around the pool.

00:31:31.020 --> 00:31:34.409
And I said to my dad, I'm gonna go down
a day early 'cause it's really hot down

00:31:34.409 --> 00:31:36.750
there and I wanna get used to the heat.

00:31:36.840 --> 00:31:42.240
And so I went down the Dana Inn and I
went in and hung out the pool by myself.

00:31:42.240 --> 00:31:44.429
And then the next day the
players start coming in.

00:31:44.429 --> 00:31:50.415
André Lacroix, Wayne Rivers, uh,
Jean Piaget, and meeting these

00:31:50.445 --> 00:31:52.225
guys, I didn't know any of them.

00:31:52.285 --> 00:31:55.405
And there are a lot of older guys
because the WHA brought in some

00:31:55.405 --> 00:31:58.555
older players, but they had us
young guys to fill in the team.

00:31:58.855 --> 00:32:02.215
They were sitting around the pool
and then this burr head comes in.

00:32:04.425 --> 00:32:07.005
With his nose over to the side and it was,

00:32:07.035 --> 00:32:07.935
Jim Conrad: He's a white guy?

00:32:07.965 --> 00:32:08.675
Alec Tidey: He is.

00:32:08.845 --> 00:32:12.215
It was Goldie Goldthorpe.

00:32:12.215 --> 00:32:13.655
From Slap Shot.

00:32:13.655 --> 00:32:14.475
I'm not kidding.

00:32:14.595 --> 00:32:15.225
Jim Conrad: Wow.

00:32:15.285 --> 00:32:17.625
Alec Tidey: And he walked into the pool.

00:32:18.030 --> 00:32:22.470
And he had nunchakus you know, the,
the things that you swing around,

00:32:22.470 --> 00:32:23.770
the two pieces of wooden chain.

00:32:23.790 --> 00:32:25.470
Jim Conrad: Oh, uh, chakras,

00:32:25.475 --> 00:32:26.310
Alec Tidey: Or, or something like that.

00:32:26.310 --> 00:32:27.930
Nunchakus, I think they were, anyway,

00:32:27.930 --> 00:32:28.530
Jim Conrad: We'll Google it.

00:32:28.710 --> 00:32:29.100
Alec Tidey: Yeah.

00:32:29.100 --> 00:32:34.500
And he comes up to me and goes
and pulls it under his, I'll

00:32:34.500 --> 00:32:35.820
see you on the ice tomorrow.

00:32:35.940 --> 00:32:36.295
And I said.

00:32:36.685 --> 00:32:37.585
Fuck off.

00:32:40.975 --> 00:32:43.765
Jim Conrad: I didn't know you told
Goldie Goldthorpe to fuck off.

00:32:43.765 --> 00:32:44.245
Alec Tidey: Fuck off.

00:32:44.245 --> 00:32:44.475
Yeah.

00:32:45.135 --> 00:32:45.745
Jim Conrad: I like it.

00:32:45.745 --> 00:32:48.145
Alec Tidey: And the guys are
sitting around the pool watching

00:32:48.145 --> 00:32:49.915
this and going, ah, that's Goldie.

00:32:49.945 --> 00:32:52.280
Don't worry about Goldie
and this sort of thing.

00:32:52.280 --> 00:32:57.355
And I'm going, and, and, now I'm
finding out that they thought I

00:32:57.355 --> 00:32:59.095
was a big, tough player, which.

00:32:59.470 --> 00:33:01.090
I guess I was, but that wasn't my deal.

00:33:01.090 --> 00:33:03.790
Jim Conrad: So your role,
their assumed role for you on

00:33:03.879 --> 00:33:05.710
the San Diego team was goon?

00:33:05.889 --> 00:33:09.159
Alec Tidey: Well, they, the, after
I've made the team, they, told me, a

00:33:09.159 --> 00:33:11.649
couple of guys said that, that they
heard that I could really fight.

00:33:11.980 --> 00:33:16.210
Anyway, Goldie, the next, so with
the first practice we have, and this

00:33:16.210 --> 00:33:19.629
is training camp and we're working
out, and then we're gonna scrimmage.

00:33:19.635 --> 00:33:21.220
And guess who he puts me against?

00:33:21.850 --> 00:33:22.330
Goldie.

00:33:22.629 --> 00:33:26.080
And he whacks me and I
whack him back with a stick.

00:33:26.080 --> 00:33:27.190
We're going up and down the ice.

00:33:27.190 --> 00:33:29.080
He's, he's whacking me again.

00:33:29.080 --> 00:33:33.070
I turn around, I whack him, and we
drop the gloves with Goldie Goldthorpe.

00:33:34.270 --> 00:33:36.790
And I'm standing there
watching him, throwing punches.

00:33:36.790 --> 00:33:39.790
He's jumping around, throwing punches,
and I'm just sitting here like this and

00:33:39.790 --> 00:33:42.879
I'm looking at his chin and I go, bang.

00:33:43.330 --> 00:33:44.110
Knocked him out.

00:33:45.710 --> 00:33:46.430
Out cold.

00:33:46.640 --> 00:33:47.360
One shot.

00:33:48.170 --> 00:33:51.170
And he gets up and he, he
wakes up and he's like this.

00:33:51.170 --> 00:33:54.200
And he's pulling his, and the guys
are going, oh, Goldie, go sit down.

00:33:54.200 --> 00:33:55.790
Tidey kicked your ass.

00:33:55.795 --> 00:33:57.890
And, and I made the team.

00:33:58.490 --> 00:33:59.250
Jim Conrad: Ah.

00:33:59.770 --> 00:34:00.320
Great story.

00:34:01.070 --> 00:34:01.800
Oh man.

00:34:01.820 --> 00:34:04.219
Alec Tidey: I've, I've got
another story about him too.

00:34:04.219 --> 00:34:05.389
But anyway, the, um,

00:34:05.510 --> 00:34:07.370
Jim Conrad: Okay, well gimme the,
gimme the other Goldie story.

00:34:07.429 --> 00:34:10.850
Alec Tidey: Well, the other Goldie
story is we're in the bus and, uh, this

00:34:10.850 --> 00:34:15.529
is a month and a half into the season,
and I'm reading something and he grabs

00:34:15.529 --> 00:34:17.210
my book and throws it out the window.

00:34:17.659 --> 00:34:22.009
Just like, just because he's
Goldie, because he's, he's bored.

00:34:22.639 --> 00:34:25.040
And I, and I turned to him,
I said, you want some more?

00:34:27.000 --> 00:34:30.570
It was just the way my brain
worked when I did stuff, right?

00:34:30.620 --> 00:34:34.200
Because of my history and my background
of growing up and acting out.

00:34:34.470 --> 00:34:35.790
And I, I believe that today.

00:34:35.790 --> 00:34:36.750
And it's not wrong.

00:34:36.780 --> 00:34:37.870
It's just what it is.

00:34:38.580 --> 00:34:40.260
Here's another great story.

00:34:40.260 --> 00:34:45.120
So my, my first home game
was against, uh, Winnipeg.

00:34:45.420 --> 00:34:46.590
You know who played on that?

00:34:46.800 --> 00:34:47.490
Jim Conrad: Bobby Hall.

00:34:47.640 --> 00:34:48.480
Alec Tidey: Bobby Hall.

00:34:48.875 --> 00:34:53.614
And I was on a kid line, Joe
Norris, Kevin Devine, and Alec,

00:34:53.674 --> 00:34:55.085
where we were the checking line.

00:34:55.085 --> 00:34:59.495
We checked all the big players 'cause
I could skate and check and uh,

00:34:59.495 --> 00:35:01.145
that's what position he put us in.

00:35:01.265 --> 00:35:05.855
Uh, I'll never forget the coming out
and warm up and look, couldn't get

00:35:05.855 --> 00:35:08.285
my eyes off of Bobby Hall is skating.

00:35:08.620 --> 00:35:12.785
Now, we sat every Saturday
hockey night in Canada and grew

00:35:12.785 --> 00:35:14.404
up watching these guys, right?

00:35:14.495 --> 00:35:15.845
Gordie Howe, Bobby Hall.

00:35:15.905 --> 00:35:16.775
Jim Conrad: Legends.

00:35:16.775 --> 00:35:20.285
Alec Tidey: Legends, and you're,
and now I'm going to the face

00:35:20.285 --> 00:35:22.295
off and I'm, he played left wing.

00:35:22.295 --> 00:35:26.675
I played right wing and I'm standing
beside Bobby Hall and I go, Bobby, I

00:35:26.675 --> 00:35:28.805
can't believe I'm standing here with you.

00:35:29.165 --> 00:35:30.485
He said, it's okay, kid.

00:35:30.635 --> 00:35:31.385
Have a good game.

00:35:31.850 --> 00:35:32.779
And I said, thank you.

00:35:34.940 --> 00:35:36.920
And we go up and down the ice.

00:35:36.920 --> 00:35:39.230
I'm all over because I could skate.

00:35:39.560 --> 00:35:40.370
The end of the game.

00:35:40.370 --> 00:35:41.299
We won the game.

00:35:41.660 --> 00:35:42.980
I scored three goals.

00:35:43.220 --> 00:35:44.060
Jim Conrad: You got a hat trick.

00:35:44.089 --> 00:35:44.960
Alec Tidey: I got a hat trick.

00:35:45.170 --> 00:35:49.129
Jim Conrad: Against Bobby
Hall in the WHA Winnipeg Jets.

00:35:49.700 --> 00:35:51.980
Alec Tidey: The, in the, and
the in the paper the next day

00:35:51.980 --> 00:35:56.455
it said Tidey checks Hall, maybe
Hall should have checked Tidey.

00:35:56.475 --> 00:35:57.465
I've got that clipping.

00:35:58.605 --> 00:36:00.345
So those are the things that happened.

00:36:00.825 --> 00:36:05.175
But in that, uh, San Diego,
I don't know if you remember,

00:36:05.175 --> 00:36:07.305
Jim Conrad: Did they stick
around or they did they fold?

00:36:07.305 --> 00:36:09.825
Alec Tidey: Well, here's what, there's
another thing that's really interesting.

00:36:09.885 --> 00:36:14.080
So San Diego was golden girls and parties.

00:36:14.200 --> 00:36:15.439
And all the rest of the stuff.

00:36:15.439 --> 00:36:18.919
And you know, one of the things
that happened to me is I started

00:36:18.919 --> 00:36:20.794
partying with the partiers and, uh,

00:36:20.955 --> 00:36:21.734
Jim Conrad: The real partiers.

00:36:21.734 --> 00:36:22.705
Alec Tidey: The real partiers.

00:36:22.705 --> 00:36:22.814
Yeah.

00:36:22.814 --> 00:36:23.495
Jim Conrad: The hardcore partiers.

00:36:23.509 --> 00:36:24.319
Alec Tidey: The hardcore.

00:36:24.379 --> 00:36:26.750
And, uh, anyway, uh,

00:36:26.750 --> 00:36:28.879
Jim Conrad: Did they introduce
you to another substance?

00:36:28.910 --> 00:36:29.540
Alec Tidey: Yeah.

00:36:29.540 --> 00:36:33.090
That would've been a, so the,
the story of that was I was, uh,

00:36:33.090 --> 00:36:34.290
Jim Conrad: Peruvian marching powder.

00:36:34.350 --> 00:36:34.620
Alec Tidey: Yeah.

00:36:34.620 --> 00:36:37.890
So what what happened was I
went to my first, uh, party

00:36:37.890 --> 00:36:40.480
in a house party in San Diego.

00:36:40.590 --> 00:36:46.020
And, uh, this girl standing over and she
comes over and she says, do you toot?

00:36:46.170 --> 00:36:50.340
And I looked at her and I went,
yeah, 'cause she was beautiful.

00:36:50.430 --> 00:36:51.390
Jim Conrad: Do you toot?

00:36:51.390 --> 00:36:52.110
Alec Tidey: Do you toot?

00:36:52.110 --> 00:36:55.085
Jim Conrad: Now that could be, that
could be taken a lot of different ways.

00:36:55.115 --> 00:36:56.255
Alec Tidey: Well, I
didn't know what it meant.

00:36:56.345 --> 00:36:56.855
Jim Conrad: Okay.

00:36:57.365 --> 00:36:59.795
Alec Tidey: And I, I, but I
looked at her and I said, sure.

00:36:59.915 --> 00:37:00.185
Yeah.

00:37:01.715 --> 00:37:05.045
And she said, okay, do,
let's go into the bathroom.

00:37:05.345 --> 00:37:06.365
And I looked at her again.

00:37:06.365 --> 00:37:07.535
I said, okay.

00:37:08.045 --> 00:37:09.375
Seriously, I didn't
know what she was doing.

00:37:09.375 --> 00:37:11.285
Jim Conrad: There was some
gonna be, some tooting going on.

00:37:11.285 --> 00:37:14.795
Alec Tidey: And we went into the
bathroom and, uh, she pulled out a little

00:37:14.795 --> 00:37:16.745
mirror and put this white stuff down.

00:37:16.805 --> 00:37:20.195
And I'd heard of the cocaine,
but I've never ever seen it.

00:37:20.910 --> 00:37:23.580
And she starts chopping it
up and she takes a snort.

00:37:23.580 --> 00:37:25.109
And I said, what is that?

00:37:25.109 --> 00:37:26.250
And she says, cocaine.

00:37:26.310 --> 00:37:26.729
Oh.

00:37:27.209 --> 00:37:29.279
She said, it'll help you party all night.

00:37:29.729 --> 00:37:30.629
Oh, good.

00:37:30.750 --> 00:37:31.169
Okay.

00:37:31.439 --> 00:37:34.350
So I did a line, and then she
looked at me right in the eyes and

00:37:34.350 --> 00:37:35.384
she said, and it's not addictive.

00:37:37.365 --> 00:37:38.505
And I'll never forget that.

00:37:39.675 --> 00:37:40.275
Jim Conrad: Delusional.

00:37:40.444 --> 00:37:40.535
Alec Tidey: Yeah.

00:37:40.564 --> 00:37:41.214
Oh yeah.

00:37:41.944 --> 00:37:45.255
So the other thing that happened was
my first road trip was into Houston.

00:37:45.525 --> 00:37:46.845
And guess who played in Houston?

00:37:47.254 --> 00:37:47.964
Jim Conrad: Gordie Howe.

00:37:48.015 --> 00:37:53.170
Alec Tidey: Gordie Howe And Gordie Howe
again, I'm in, you know, warm up watching

00:37:53.170 --> 00:37:55.900
Gordie Howe going, I'm, with Mr. Hockey.

00:37:55.900 --> 00:37:57.160
I'm skating on the same ice.

00:37:57.160 --> 00:37:57.910
I'm not kidding.

00:37:58.240 --> 00:37:59.320
It was powerful.

00:37:59.350 --> 00:38:02.710
And then we're, we start facing off
and we start playing and I'm checking

00:38:03.020 --> 00:38:04.600
Gordie Howe, we get in the corner.

00:38:04.600 --> 00:38:05.500
What does Gordie do?

00:38:05.830 --> 00:38:06.280
Elbow.

00:38:06.705 --> 00:38:07.605
Right in the nose.

00:38:07.814 --> 00:38:11.984
And I turned to him and I with my
stick and I was going crosscheck him.

00:38:12.285 --> 00:38:14.174
And I go, oh, that's Mr. Hockey.

00:38:14.174 --> 00:38:18.524
And I went to the bench and my
nose is bleeding, like, and, uh,

00:38:18.855 --> 00:38:21.480
on Andre Lacroix down at the other
end of the bench, he says, Tidey.

00:38:21.900 --> 00:38:24.450
You take that from him, you
take that from everybody.

00:38:24.530 --> 00:38:27.810
And I went, okay, this is a true story.

00:38:28.500 --> 00:38:29.340
The next shift,

00:38:29.370 --> 00:38:30.300
Jim Conrad: Of course it's true.

00:38:30.300 --> 00:38:30.870
Alec Tidey: It's true.

00:38:31.020 --> 00:38:34.620
And I had the stuff up my
nose to stop it from bleeding.

00:38:34.620 --> 00:38:37.620
Jim Conrad: And so you go out in the ice
with, with the two nose plugs up there.

00:38:37.620 --> 00:38:41.550
Alec Tidey: The two nose plugs up my and,
he's in the slot and we're in our end

00:38:41.820 --> 00:38:43.590
and I see the puck coming out to him.

00:38:43.590 --> 00:38:47.460
So I crosschecked him down onto
his knees and he turned around

00:38:47.940 --> 00:38:50.130
and broke his stick over my leg.

00:38:50.845 --> 00:38:53.694
Jim Conrad: Back the day when the,
when the stick was a piece of lumber.

00:38:53.694 --> 00:38:54.415
Alec Tidey: A piece of lumber.

00:38:54.444 --> 00:38:54.595
Yeah.

00:38:54.595 --> 00:38:54.685
And.

00:38:55.920 --> 00:38:59.940
I threw my gloves off, like go
with, because I don't think about

00:38:59.940 --> 00:39:03.360
anything, but I thought you don't
break a stick over my leg like that.

00:39:03.360 --> 00:39:07.080
And I threw the gloves off and I look
back on both benches and now are emptying.

00:39:07.620 --> 00:39:11.520
And I grabbed onto Gordie's on his knees
and I'm down there with him and I go,

00:39:11.520 --> 00:39:13.200
oh, Gordie, I'm in trouble, aren't I?

00:39:13.200 --> 00:39:14.940
And he said, yeah, you are kid.

00:39:15.365 --> 00:39:18.755
And we didn't have helmets on back
then and all I could feel I was just

00:39:18.815 --> 00:39:23.009
holding them in and the knuckles
were going off the back of my head

00:39:25.350 --> 00:39:26.975
and so there you go.

00:39:27.005 --> 00:39:28.125
I fought Gordie Howe.

00:39:28.535 --> 00:39:29.194
Jim Conrad: True story.

00:39:29.345 --> 00:39:30.065
Alec Tidey: True story.

00:39:30.395 --> 00:39:33.274
Jim Conrad: Alec, uh, great
to have you on the show.

00:39:33.444 --> 00:39:36.595
Hockey stories were always my
favorites, but thank you so much.

00:39:36.644 --> 00:39:37.604
Those are great stories.

00:39:37.625 --> 00:39:38.525
Alec Tidey: Well, thank you.

00:39:49.395 --> 00:39:53.115
Jim Conrad: Well, that's episode
five in the digital archive.

00:39:53.234 --> 00:39:54.794
Thanks for making it this far with me.

00:39:55.455 --> 00:40:01.550
To review, on epi five, we heard the
wisdom of 84-year-old Dr. James Hollis,

00:40:01.550 --> 00:40:08.000
PhD, a Jungian psychoanalyst, and
author, from his book What Matters Most.

00:40:08.510 --> 00:40:14.000
Also, we heard the full metal jacket
explanation of the US versus them

00:40:14.180 --> 00:40:19.485
mentality, and the story of my good
friend Alec Tidey and his battles,

00:40:19.515 --> 00:40:22.575
both on and off the frozen pond.

00:40:23.565 --> 00:40:24.255
Thanks for listening.

00:40:24.375 --> 00:40:29.655
It's always a pleasure telling
stories, and of course, remember

00:40:30.135 --> 00:40:32.865
we are all stories to be told.

00:40:33.735 --> 00:40:38.105
Until next time, I'm Jim Conrad
and this has been Conovision,

00:40:38.775 --> 00:40:40.395
the spirit of storytelling.

00:40:40.995 --> 00:40:41.745
Bye-bye.