Bridges and Ferries

Something rather remarkable occurred on Friday. For most Canadian it had no effect on our life and we will never ever know about it.  But for a relatively small number of people who live in the Northwest Territories their lives have got immeasurably better. There is now a bridge across the Mackenzie. River. Up to Friday if one wanted to go from the south to Yellowknife one had to wait for the rather small ferry tocros the river. The Mackenzie Is a big river that has a fierce current that drives all the way to the article ocean.  The ferry is not very big and I would guess that one transport truck would take up most of the room.

No matter how slow or inconvenient the ferry was, the main problem was that for two months of the year the ferry was not available.  In the spring the current is so strong that it is not safe to cross. For those two months folks who live across the river are unable to travel south unless they fly. It means that no fresh foods are available and I suspect that what little is available cost more. I have to assume that the bars and restaurants need to order and stock enough food and drink to last them the two or so months.

Now that there is a bridge, fresh food will be available 12 months of the year and they will able the drive out whenever they wish. For the folks of Yellowknife I am sure they are celebrating. But a little bit of the romance of the north is gone. I will always remember my excitement at seeing the bison as I waited for the ferry or how I felt as I crossed the Mackenzie for the first time, feeling the currant pull at the bow.

I am glad that there is a ferry - it just makes sense. But I am very glad that I got cross the Mackenzie the old way.

My New Best Friend

I made a new friend last week….. I have spent a lot of time with Harvey in the past week or so. It has been interesting and at times he has presented me with some challenges. Of course the sad thing about my new friend Harvey is that within a week he will be scattered on the ground.

Harvey, you see, is a paper mache head.

I have for a number of years either helped or in the past few years made on my own some sort of piñata for my granddaughter’s birthday in June. For the past 3 years it has been a soccer ball (which is harder than one might think). Last year the ball was hard enough that 5-6 girls and a few boys could kick it around the back yard for 10 minutes before it finally broke apart. But I have never made a piñata for my grandson as his birthday is in December. It never made sense to have them flailing away at some object while there was snow on the ground ( they live in Sudbury and snow is always a possibility at that time of year). This year he asked for one and I could not say no. When I asked what he wanted me to make, he said he wanted me to make a head. So I did.

The final result looks like the result from a weird coupling between Mr. Burns from the Simpsons and Mrs. PacMan.  I hope they have fun in the snow bashing it with a baseball bat.