I was sitting in a pub called The Other Side on a Saturday afternoon. The pub was part of the Blackfoot Inn in Calgary, adjacent to Yuk Yuks. I was 23 years old at the time. And, I was confused. I left Nova Scotia and was considering changing my life’s path. The months previous, I had a battle with depression while attending Dalhousie University. I believe this battle brought me to a place where I had to make some very difficult decisions. You see, by day I was sitting in a classroom, pursuing my MBA. At night, instead of hitting the books, I was writing comedy. In Halifax, at that time, there was nowhere to perform standup so I would just write. By the end of spring, I realized I had to give comedy a chance. I began to think about leaving home. My mother and brother lived in Calgary at the time, which made this an obvious choice. Calgary also had a Yuk Yuks comedy club. So, I quit school. With new hope, I moved there and I would soon be at the comedy club 3 or 4 nights a week, watching and studying the headliners. I was fascinated. But I was still unsure if I could take this path in life. Inside, I was suffering from mixed feelings. Could I really turn my back on my education and dive into the unpredictable world of performing comedy? Sounds crazy. I felt like my head was in the clouds. During that time I met several comics, all who encouraged me to pursue performing. But nobody encouraged me more than Irwin.
At the pub that Saturday, I had my notebook in front of me, jotting down ideas – mostly bad ones. That’s when Irwin walked in. He had a notepad, too. I had already watched Irwin perform a few sets during the week and was an instant fan. He approached me and sat down. He asked me what I was working on. Then he told me what he was working on. For the next hour or so, Irwin and I discussed not only our jokes, but life and choosing your path. I would come to learn he too changed paths and it worked out for him. I was so very inspired by our conversation. Irwin took an hour out of his life to sit down with me – a younger, inexperienced, amateur comedian – and treated me like we were equals. And as a young, confused man, it meant a ton and I’ll never forget it.

Over the years since then I have worked with Irwin many times and certainly sat in on more than a few poker games with him! I would be lucky to have many more conversations with Irwin about standup and our writing careers. I saw how he affected the lives of so many of my other friends, too. He was a special kind of guy. But it was that first conversation that meant the most. I got to share this story with Irwin, his wife Joanna and my girlfriend Lauren this past Wednesday at the Princess Margaret hospital, just a few days before he passed away from cancer.

I know he touched the hearts of so many people as he did mine.

He will be missed.

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