Nov 3, 2015
Colleen Jones’s book about a lot more than curling
When Colleen Jones was first encouraged to write a book, she thought it was going to be about curling. TSN's Bob Weeks has more on Jones's book "Throwing Rocks at Houses: My Life In And Out Of Curling."
By Bob Weeks
When Colleen Jones was first encouraged to write a book, she thought it was going to be about curling.
And why not? With her extraordinary record on the ice, it was a tale worth telling. But what Jones didn’t realize was that her story, recounted in the book Throwing Rocks at Houses: My Life In And Out Of Curling, had another part to it, a life lesson that deserved to be shared.
For as good as she was on the ice – and she was very, very good – her scare with death added an important element, one that she hopes will perhaps shake a few people out of their ho-hum routines.
First the curling. Jones has a remarkable record of six victories in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, including four consecutive, along with a couple of world championship titles. She also has bonspiel wins in all parts of the world. Her team of Kim Kelly, Mary-Anne Arsenault and Nancy Delahunt dominated the game as no rink had before.
But even with all that success, Jones realizes now that there was a bigger picture.
“I was sleep-walking through life,” admitted Jones, who is a sports and weather reporter for CBC. “I had a massive bucket list, but I never really checked anything off it. It was always about the next [curling] event.”
One morning in December of 2010, Jones woke up as if it was a regular day but began feeling woozy and sick. At first, she thought it was nothing more than the flu. But an hour and a half later, she was in an ambulance being rushed to the hospital where she was eventually diagnosed with potentially fatal bacterial meningitis.
“I was lucky they tested for it because they don’t always do that,” said Jones. “It gets misdiagnosed quite a lot. I had a spinal tap and they got the drugs into me.”
That likely saved her life. Brain surgery followed along with a long recovery period. When she was strong enough to begin walking, her strolls came with a lot of self-reflection, a lot of honest soul-searching about what was important in life.
“For so long, I was always busy looking at the future but you have to be here now and live now,” said Jones.
Since her scare, she’s done that by tackling one adventure after another, from cycling the Cabot Trail to getting back on the ice and making it to the Scotties, which she did in 2013.
“I think any time you have a health-related scare, there’s some hard-earned gratitude,” reflected Jones. “I hope people get the lesson. You have to slow down and smell the roses.”
Jones is back on the ice now playing in the senior division. She made it to the Canadian championships last year, eventually losing in the final. But losing likely doesn’t sting as much as it once did. There are bigger things in Colleen Jones’ life these days.
Her book, co-authored with Perry Lefko, is available now.