And, adds Max, all these people not getting a graduation ceremony, because of the pandemic, seemed a misfortune too meaningful not to be redressed, however symbolically.

So he decided he would play the song for someone as a kind of congratulations by proxy to all graduates, the class of 2020, in the absence of a formal gathering. But who?

Max is friends with Paul Langlois from The Tragically Hip, whose daughter Sophie attends McMaster. He phoned her, asked if she knew of anyone who was especially deserving and who might get a special lift out of being sung to as a graduation acknowledgment.

I know just the person, Max quotes Sophie as saying.

Ava is not only a student who has been accepted to Oxford University in England to do her Masters in clinical embryology, starting in September, if circumstances allow, but she volunteers at a shelter and with Good Shepherd, she tutors, collects protective eyewear for COVID-19 workers, and she was on the graduation gala dinner/dance committee as well as shortlisted to be valedictorian.

So the loss caused by the cancellation of graduation and the dinner/dance cut quite deep for her.

Max contacted Avas parents, Tessa and Paul, as well as her boyfriend, Haydn Walker, on the sly. They concocted a pretext for getting her outside in ceremonial garb they wanted photographs to send to granddad in England.

It was quite a ruse, Ava says with a laugh, in hindsight, about the elaborate lengths to which they went to set her up.

Well, I was totally confused and amazed. So it completely worked. In the clip that was shown on TV she is saying, This is insane, and Oh my god!! It was a group effort (her family, boyfriend and Arkells) they put in and it was so sweet and genuine, says Ava. She still wishes shed had a graduation but this was definitely more than I ever could have expected or hoped for.

Did she know right away who these two troubadours on her lawn were when she came out to the sound of their singing?

Instantly, she says. Ava is a fan. Part of the segment that aired on Sunday was Ava smiling for a cellphone video her boyfriend took of her at an Arkells concert.

Its so easy to feel disconnected these days, says Max. Sometimes we need a reminder.

Jeff Mahoney is a Hamilton-based reporter and columnist covering culture and lifestyle stories, commentary and humour for The Spectator. Reach him via email: jmahoney@thespec.com

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'Years In The Making': Hamilton's Arkells give Ava, class of 2020, grad gift to remember - The New Hamburg Independent