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They had to bring more chairs to the community hall of this hamlet, an hour
east of Calgary.

It's true, none of the see-and-be-seen set mourned his passing. No honor
guard fired a 21-gun salute. No writers scribbled headlines. No media hounds
grilled the grieving family. But the people were here.

In Monday's news he got five seconds, if anything at all.

Leonard Allan Nicholl, 44, dies near Vulcan. A truck, failing to yield,
collided with his vehicle.

But he deserved so much more.

To all who love him, his name is Skye.

Skye lived in Gleichen in a simple house with his partner of 18 years. Her
name is Dove. Skye was born in Kitchener, Ont. When his mom died, the
11-year-old Skye moved in with a Mennonite family.

By his late teens, Skye became a seeker of his own truth and his own peace.
He joined a commune, played music, read books. He never bought the rat race.

Skye met Dove in '80. In a couple months, the lovebirds hitchhiked to
Jasper, sharing a backpack and a tent.

They stayed at Jasper's Free Camp, out in the bush.

"We had very simple needs," says Dove.

They'd get day-old bread at the Jasper Safeway; they'd share a flat of
strawberries that had been thrown out because of a few bad fruit.

Skye would play a borrowed guitar. He sounded a hell of a lot like Neil
Young.

They built a camper on the back of a Toyota truck. They eventually bought a
bus and lived in it for eight years.

Skye and Dove had two kids. A son, Manasseh, now 14, and a daughter, Jenny,
11. Skye also has a daughter Cheri from an earlier marriage and a son Aaron
from a previous relationship.

When their son turned school age, Skye and Dove settled in Gleichen. They
lived here the last nine years.

In that time, Skye worked on the volunteer fire department, drove the
Zamboni at the local rink and told countless bad jokes.

The couple took in kids who were in trouble or needed help. Skye and Dove
would pick up hitchhikers and treat them to a meal or jam with them if they
were musicians.

Skye and Dove also were members of the Church of the Universe's Precious
Cargo Mission.

The mission is in a one-time school bus barn. The group, sometimes numbering
25 to 30, come from all over. To talk and play music. They believe in love
and peace and freedom and making a better world. To the horror of some small
minds, they also smoke pot.

The world of Dove and Precious Cargo changed on Monday when an RCMP officer
broke the fatal news.

At the time, Skye was working at a nearby irrigation canal for the province.
He'd passed the job probation.

Tears well up in Dove's eyes.

Two weeks earlier, the couple had decided to marry.

"I always thought Skye was my hero, my prince. And he's always been my
prince, right to the end."

Skye left no CDs, no recording contract.

Skye left much more.

Walter Tucker, minister of the Church of the Universe, says of Skye:
"Compared to him, I've not done enough."

Richard Snyder, Skye's pal, calls him a free spirit. Skye's brother, Carl,
sees him as the last flower child.

Kelly Jay of the band Crowbar thinks of Skye as a saintly man and a great
unrecognized musician.

But most important are the people who yesterday filled the community hall of
a tiny hamlet to overflow.

A living testament to a man of love.

"My greatest hour is yet to come," reads a poem by Skye. "In victory we'll
rise above it. In truth all there is, is love."

Checked-by: "Rolf Ernst"