In Memory of Chris Redden

On December 29, 2022, Chris died - this sentence stopped my writing for over an hour. The Chris Redden I know would never do something as mundane as dying... He would "return to the universe", "shake off his meat suit", "stubbornly became unalive" and "scoot down the rabbit hole"... Dying is too tedious for him.

I met Chris in the early 1990s while living in Wolfville. Over the past 30 years, we would fade out of touch and then one day we would meet up somewhere random and it was like no time had passed at all - this is a story I have heard so many times in the past few weeks. Chris was able to pick up where you had left off the last time you visited... he was always happy to see you, with sparkling eyes and a big grin, like a Cheshire Cat.

Those that knew Chris, knew him to be kind, polite, stubborn, quirky, proud, inclusive, funny, inviting and had a great love of velvet.

Recently, Chris had been making his home on the streets of Halifax. The Community Navigator at the Halifax Central Library has been able to provide details of his life that would otherwise be lost to us forever. We asked for a list of programs that had provided Chris with support and enjoyment during his time on the streets. The Library Snack Program and Coffee/Tea Programs were part of Chris' daily life - Chris was very fond of Cafe Mocha's.

Donations in Chris's Memory will be presented to the Halifax Central Library to be used for food and housing insecurity programs as determined by the Community Navigators.

Chris would have been 52 on February 4th. On his birthday, if you can put a thought of Chris out into the universe, check on your quiet friends, drink a cafe mocha and put on your favorite velvet leisure suit - know that the sparkle you see just outside the corner of your sight is the Cheshire Cat sneaking a peek on you!