“Keep your powder dry, kid!” I can still hear the famous line Bob MacDonald always used whenever he suspected something was up in the newsroom.
Working at the desk next to Bob's for seven years at the feisty Toronto Sun will always be an indelible part of my past.
So when Ed Zawadski called me Sunday night to tell me that Bob had died, I was grateful that we had chatted at length over the telephone when he was in hospital recuperating from a broken hip just before Christmas.
“I'll be back home before you know it,” he assured me on his second day in hospital.
From the old school when reporters tore receivers off phones in Ma Bell's telephone booths after filing their stories to the office, Bob MacDonald was part of that dying breed that believed in getting the scoop.
“Bob was a tough nut,” said Toronto Sun cartoonist Andy Donato. “He had a following. He probably had the most dedicated following of any of the writers at the Sun…I just think he was one of the top journalists I've ever worked for or with. He's certainly gone to a better place. I'm going to miss him. He was a great guy and I loved him dearly.”
It should surprise no one that it was Bob MacDonald who wrote the Sun's first-ever front page story, or that full of vigor with a healing broken hip and prostate cancer, he filed what was to be his last column only last week.
It was typical of the down-to-earth, hockey-loving Maritimer, that the prostate cancer to which he finally succumbed was diagnosed in its advanced stages more than 14 years ago.
That's the kind of scrapper Bob MacDonald was. When he talked to you, he was too busy goading you on to better things to ever waste time on illness.
A lone wolf hunting down the story, he railed as much against communism as the late Lubor J. Zink. The sky blue eyes that were his signature could turn downright steely at the mere mention of communists.
And if life gets to wear most of us down, it never much daunted the newshound from Nova Scotia, who lived for his job every day. No politician was ever safe from his pen.
It was this love for what he did, I think, that kept him looking young even when the illness he never talked about came to stay.
When the Tely folded in 1971, MacDonald was the only reporter the astute Peter Worthington wanted to hire at the new tabloid Toronto Sun. It was an investment that bought the Sun decades of investigative reporting. Not to mention an early move that ignited the fire for other investigative journalists who made the Sun what it is today.
Worthington's words on MacDonald's death were the only ones that could replace heartaches with a chuckle…”Whenever we wanted to cause trouble, the Sun would send Bob up to Ottawa.”
One of my fondest memories of this character with the lopsided grin dates back to 1996, when Bob was unhappy about rumours that the number of his columns would be cut back. Drawing on the East European following who loved him, a protest was mounted in front of the Sun's King Street East offices.
In cold and bitter February weather, MacDonald fans marched waving placards with more hope than complaint.
In an attempt not to make things any worse than they were, I made sure that signs reading; “There Ain't No Sunshine When He's Gone” were prominently placed.
When then-Publisher Paul Godfrey sent word that the number of columns would remain, there was a rousing cheer from the rent-a-mob members.
MacDonald always took time talking to young reporters and was so proud that his daughter Moira is a journalist.
Almost every day MacDonald walked Toronto's boardwalk, stopping for a coffee fix at the Boardwalk Caf, where the staff clearly adored him.
Bob's favourite latter-day protg is talented Sun news columnist Joe Warmington.
“He was relentless in his fight against communism. He was the toughest guy I ever met. You couldn't rattle him. He wasn't afraid of anything. He had a real mixture of toughness and kindness,” says Warmington.
From somewhere, Bob would now be reminding Joe, “Keep your powder dry.”
In this ever-changing world, lovable tough guys are few and far between. But whenever they come our way, they leave something of themselves behind.
Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com
Pursuant to Title 17 U.S.C. 107, other copyrighted work is provided for educational purposes, research, critical comment, or debate without profit or payment. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for your own purposes beyond the 'fair use' exception, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Views are those of authors and not necessarily those of Canada Free Press. Content is Copyright 1997-2018 the individual authors. Site Copyright 1997-2018 Canada Free Press.Com Privacy Statement