The big news this week, or at least the big news for some folks in BC and Alberta was, of course, the announcement that a Federal Court of Appeal had ruled that the approval process for the pipeline was insufficient both in terms of how the government engaged in dialogue with the First Nations communities and in the fact that it had not adequately dealt with the issue of how increased tanker traffic would affect the orcas. Not surprisingly - some of the individuals/organizations involved in this process have declared an absolute victory over the forces of darkness while others have declared an almost end to the world as we know it. The reality is that neither end of this reaction continuum is accurate.
There is no doubt that historically the Canadian government (along with private corporations, provincial governments, municipalities and any other sort of non-native organization or structure) have woefully failed to engage with First Nation communities on issues that affect them. In this particular case the government should have done so much more to create a meaningful dialogue. However, at the risk of sounding like an apologist for the federal government - the courts have continually increased their expectations; the definition of a "meaningful dialogue" has dramatically changed in the last decade or so. None-the- less- the federal government needs to find a better way of doing business and the courts have rightly told them so. On the other hand, everyone needs to understand that sometimes a "meaningful dialogue" does not mean that everyone agrees. In previous court cases it has been decided that the federal government has the right to make decisions on behalf of the country as a whole - even when that decision displeases a relatively small group of people. "Meaningful dialogue" means both sides listening to each other, sharing of ideas and solutions, honestly looking for resolutions to disagreements and ideally coming to a compromise or consensus. It does not means that a small group always wins.
I am less in agreement with the court (like they care what I think!) around the issue of the orcas. To suggest that increased tanker traffic might affect that particular pod strikes me, at best, to be narrow minded. It also panders to the human tendency to anthropomorphize animals we think are cute or noble. While an increase in tanker traffic may be the cause of some of the orcas' distress/inability to thrive, there might be other causes as well including the number of large cruise ships that sail up and down the BC coast line, the number of whale watching boats that continue to motor in areas known to be used by orcas and other large sea mammals, the amount of sewage that is dumped into the sea by Victoria and other municipalities who do not process their waste, the amount of plastics that end up in the world's oceans, the lack of attention to our rivers and streams that produce salmon (orcas mostly eat salmon) and the fact that humans continue to catch salmon for our personal use. To stop the construction of a pipeline because it might have an effect on a small group mammals and to do nothing about resolving all of the other issues affecting those mammals seems like a waste of paper the decision was written on.
A question to all of those who are celebrating. In the wee dark hours of the morning I hope some think about the fact that the most progressive, most environmental aware Albertan government ever - will now lose the next election to be replaced by a right wing, social conservative, pro business government, that 33 First Nation communities who were anticipating receiving significant income from the pipeline, will now not get it, and that, perhaps worst of all, oil will continued to be shipped by the most dangerous and least efficient/effective way - by rail. If the federal government finally learns how to negotiate in good faith then perhaps it will all be worthwhile. But I doubt it that will happen anytime in the near future.
Saturday, September 1, 2018
Thursday, August 30, 2018
A Minor Sadness
I am sort of sad. I am not saying that that I am clinically depressed or even that I am profoundly sad - I just feel a little bit down. For as long as I can remember at some point in mid to late August I get to feeling this way. I however, have noticed that this feeling of loss, of something being unfinished has started to happen earlier and earlier each year. A few years ago I realized that the start of my malaise coincided with the arrival of the first advertising flyers announcing back-to-school specials. This year, the first of these flyers arrived stuck in-between the pages of my semi-weekly free newspaper the first week of August. Summer has seemed to be particularly short this year.
It is easy to see why a person still involved in school would start to miss the loss of freedom with the threat of having to return to school. Similarly for those few lucky few (such as teachers) who have the summer off, any signal that fall is approaching could, understandably bring a sense of sadness and/or a feeling of loss of freedom. But my last experiences with school were fun - I looked forward to going back to school in the fall (although at the graduate level - there really was no summer off). I don't think I ever really disliked going to work and certainly my last years of working were fun and challenging. So why do I continue to experience some minor blues when reminded that summer will come to an end.
One could perhaps argue that my minor melancholy is more related to the weather, or at least to the reminder that the warm weather is about to be gone and that soon it will be cold for months and months. While it may be that my sense of loss or sadness is partially related to my younger self's memories of cold winters in Quebec and later in central Ontario, I like fall - the cool crisp mornings and the extraordinary colour of the leaves of the hardwoods. Besides I now live in balmy (almost) British Columbia where it may rain a lot but it is seldom really cold and one almost never has to shovel snow.
It is accepted within the medical/psychological literature that smells can trigger memories, that a smell of something can trigger powerful recollections and emotions of the past. While I know of no similar research on the topic, clearly visual cues such as seeing advertising flyers can have a similar effect.
What a marvellous thing is our brain - I wish I understood mine better.
It is easy to see why a person still involved in school would start to miss the loss of freedom with the threat of having to return to school. Similarly for those few lucky few (such as teachers) who have the summer off, any signal that fall is approaching could, understandably bring a sense of sadness and/or a feeling of loss of freedom. But my last experiences with school were fun - I looked forward to going back to school in the fall (although at the graduate level - there really was no summer off). I don't think I ever really disliked going to work and certainly my last years of working were fun and challenging. So why do I continue to experience some minor blues when reminded that summer will come to an end.
One could perhaps argue that my minor melancholy is more related to the weather, or at least to the reminder that the warm weather is about to be gone and that soon it will be cold for months and months. While it may be that my sense of loss or sadness is partially related to my younger self's memories of cold winters in Quebec and later in central Ontario, I like fall - the cool crisp mornings and the extraordinary colour of the leaves of the hardwoods. Besides I now live in balmy (almost) British Columbia where it may rain a lot but it is seldom really cold and one almost never has to shovel snow.
It is accepted within the medical/psychological literature that smells can trigger memories, that a smell of something can trigger powerful recollections and emotions of the past. While I know of no similar research on the topic, clearly visual cues such as seeing advertising flyers can have a similar effect.
What a marvellous thing is our brain - I wish I understood mine better.
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Priorities??
A week or so ago I did a blog on wondering out loud how people make decisions or rather by which criteria do people identify priorities. A few days later I came across an article about Esther the pig. Now it is clear that I am not up on all current events and therefore I had never heard about this semi famous pig. She has been on TV, has her own web page, had a book published about her and can be contacted/seen on all of the usual social media sites. Who knew that she was a celebrity?
The story I read in the National Post was about the fact that this pig needed to get a CT scan done to determine what was wrong with her back. At the veterinary clinic attached to Guelph's rightly well known vet school, there was no CT scanner big enough to accommodate Esther's considerable bulk. Esther's owners decided to raise money to buy a CT scanner so that that Guelph would have one, not just for Esther but also for other large animals including horses. In a short time, they easily raised over $500,000 (American) to buy the machine. While I would never argue that those who are responsible for an animal should ever do anything to cause suffering and in fact should do whatever possible they can to help the animal heal, I have to wonder why it was so easy to raise money for a scanner so that a six year old, 650 pound pig can have her back examined (it turns out that she has a cancerous tumour). I suspect that there are hundreds of parents who are struggling with the cost of supporting a critically ill child - and it is almost impossible to raise sufficient funds to do so; there are countless number of people who have experienced traumatic injuries and can not get sufficient assistance and there are literally thousands of children in Canada, who go to bed hungry most nights of the week - but we can raise money for a pet pig to get better medical care?
It is hard not to question some people's ability to decide what is truly important.
A few days later I heard part of a discussion on CBC where a lawyer and a animal rights activist were discussing the right of a horse living in Oregon to sue its former owner for pain and suffering. The horse (named Justice) thorough its "guardian", is suggesting that because it was neglected it developed some ongoing health problems and therefore its former owner should pay all of the associated medical cost. While it makes sense that that owner pays for the medical cost, I am not so sure about the court allocating monies for pain and suffering. I am even less sure about suggesting that animals have all of the same rights as do humans, including the right to sue if their owners do not perform as they should.
It would seem to me to be a slippery path to stand at the top of if one suggests that all animals have many if not all of the same rights as do humans. I would love to live in a world where no animal was killed for sport or for food, where all animals (including those I do not like such as rats) were treated with respect, where all animals could live in safe places where they could live full lives; however even more importantly I would like to live in a world where our resources went to ensuring that no humans were ever killed for sport , vengeance or a piece of land, where no child ever went to bed hungry and where all could live in peace. In a world full of infinite resources with all people being ethically motivated, perhaps all is possible. but in the short term - it does not seem likely.
Quite frankly, I would be quite delighted if people stopped raising and killing (ethically or not) animals for food.
The story I read in the National Post was about the fact that this pig needed to get a CT scan done to determine what was wrong with her back. At the veterinary clinic attached to Guelph's rightly well known vet school, there was no CT scanner big enough to accommodate Esther's considerable bulk. Esther's owners decided to raise money to buy a CT scanner so that that Guelph would have one, not just for Esther but also for other large animals including horses. In a short time, they easily raised over $500,000 (American) to buy the machine. While I would never argue that those who are responsible for an animal should ever do anything to cause suffering and in fact should do whatever possible they can to help the animal heal, I have to wonder why it was so easy to raise money for a scanner so that a six year old, 650 pound pig can have her back examined (it turns out that she has a cancerous tumour). I suspect that there are hundreds of parents who are struggling with the cost of supporting a critically ill child - and it is almost impossible to raise sufficient funds to do so; there are countless number of people who have experienced traumatic injuries and can not get sufficient assistance and there are literally thousands of children in Canada, who go to bed hungry most nights of the week - but we can raise money for a pet pig to get better medical care?
It is hard not to question some people's ability to decide what is truly important.
A few days later I heard part of a discussion on CBC where a lawyer and a animal rights activist were discussing the right of a horse living in Oregon to sue its former owner for pain and suffering. The horse (named Justice) thorough its "guardian", is suggesting that because it was neglected it developed some ongoing health problems and therefore its former owner should pay all of the associated medical cost. While it makes sense that that owner pays for the medical cost, I am not so sure about the court allocating monies for pain and suffering. I am even less sure about suggesting that animals have all of the same rights as do humans, including the right to sue if their owners do not perform as they should.
It would seem to me to be a slippery path to stand at the top of if one suggests that all animals have many if not all of the same rights as do humans. I would love to live in a world where no animal was killed for sport or for food, where all animals (including those I do not like such as rats) were treated with respect, where all animals could live in safe places where they could live full lives; however even more importantly I would like to live in a world where our resources went to ensuring that no humans were ever killed for sport , vengeance or a piece of land, where no child ever went to bed hungry and where all could live in peace. In a world full of infinite resources with all people being ethically motivated, perhaps all is possible. but in the short term - it does not seem likely.
Quite frankly, I would be quite delighted if people stopped raising and killing (ethically or not) animals for food.
Thursday, August 16, 2018
Sewage
I always find it somewhat curious as to how humans determine what is important and what is not; what things grab our curiosity and our passion. How do we determine which issues are so important that we will put our life on hold to do something about them while other things seem to be completely irrelevant?
For example when an orca carries around her dead baby for days and days - it is newsworthy. People, certainly on the west coast, get upset and start to demand that someone do something to ensure the health of the remain orcas in that pod. Thousands and thousands of dollars are spent to find ways to deliver antibiotics to one of the other young orcas who appears not to be thriving. On the other hand while a casual observer from another planet would perhaps assume that all humans would be concerned about human rights and that any violation of such rights would be immediately and vigorously protested, clearly that is not true. It might be equally assumed by the same visitor that issues of poverty and starvation would be quickly addressed by the population at large. Again for the vast majority - we do nothing.
Every once in awhile, some political party or other special interest group does a national poll to determine what our priorities are. While the results vary according to how the questions are posed, what is being talked about on various media outlets and how the economy is doing, the environment has been in the top three or four priorities for the last ten or so years. If one lives on the west coast it would be easy to believe that that protection of the environment is always at the top of any list. And rightly so - it is difficult to imagine the human species existing in its present form if we do not do something to protect the planet.
If those polls in any way accurately reflect what people feel or think - why doesn't the public rise up and do something about the amount of raw sewage that is pouring from our toilets into our lakes, rivers and oceans? Why do we spend countless thousands of hours of energy protesting a yet-to-be- built pipe line or the clear cutting of some very old trees but express no concern with what we are doing today with our bodily waste. Surely that is our responsibility. How we dispose of our sewage is a fixable problem - well within our grasp yet we spend our time bubbling with angst over the lives of sea mammals who are not thriving because of a lack of food and just maybe the amount of human generated pollution in their ocean but do nothing to fix the most obvious problem.
CBC reported in 2916 that " 205 billion litres of raw sewage and untreated waste water spewed into Canada's rivers and oceans last year" (CBC); earlier this week the same media outlet ran another story stating that " over one trillion litres of raw sewage leaked into Canadian waterways between 2013 and 2017, including 215 billion litres in 2017 alone" (CBC). To make things even worse almost none of that discharge is illegal. The convoluted arguments defending these practices are mind boggling. Take for example the city of Victoria whose sewage is discharged with minimal screening directly into the ocean a kilometre away from the city and fifty meters down. It has been argued that because that the pipe discharges the city's waste into the Juan da Fuca Strait it is quickly dispersed and therefore no harm is none. Diluting the poison does not solve the problem - not when you are dumping millions of litres a year.
While it can be argued that some sorts of pollution are the result of a complex change of interactions with our environment and therefore are hard to eradicate, the dumping raw sewage into lakes, rivers and oceans is a simple chain of cause and effect. It will take money to fix the problem, to build the infrastructure but it can be done. Given the fact that at least in BC this fall is municipal election time, perhaps we should start to demand that we clean up our local waste before demanding that others clean up theirs.
For example when an orca carries around her dead baby for days and days - it is newsworthy. People, certainly on the west coast, get upset and start to demand that someone do something to ensure the health of the remain orcas in that pod. Thousands and thousands of dollars are spent to find ways to deliver antibiotics to one of the other young orcas who appears not to be thriving. On the other hand while a casual observer from another planet would perhaps assume that all humans would be concerned about human rights and that any violation of such rights would be immediately and vigorously protested, clearly that is not true. It might be equally assumed by the same visitor that issues of poverty and starvation would be quickly addressed by the population at large. Again for the vast majority - we do nothing.
Every once in awhile, some political party or other special interest group does a national poll to determine what our priorities are. While the results vary according to how the questions are posed, what is being talked about on various media outlets and how the economy is doing, the environment has been in the top three or four priorities for the last ten or so years. If one lives on the west coast it would be easy to believe that that protection of the environment is always at the top of any list. And rightly so - it is difficult to imagine the human species existing in its present form if we do not do something to protect the planet.
If those polls in any way accurately reflect what people feel or think - why doesn't the public rise up and do something about the amount of raw sewage that is pouring from our toilets into our lakes, rivers and oceans? Why do we spend countless thousands of hours of energy protesting a yet-to-be- built pipe line or the clear cutting of some very old trees but express no concern with what we are doing today with our bodily waste. Surely that is our responsibility. How we dispose of our sewage is a fixable problem - well within our grasp yet we spend our time bubbling with angst over the lives of sea mammals who are not thriving because of a lack of food and just maybe the amount of human generated pollution in their ocean but do nothing to fix the most obvious problem.
CBC reported in 2916 that " 205 billion litres of raw sewage and untreated waste water spewed into Canada's rivers and oceans last year" (CBC); earlier this week the same media outlet ran another story stating that " over one trillion litres of raw sewage leaked into Canadian waterways between 2013 and 2017, including 215 billion litres in 2017 alone" (CBC). To make things even worse almost none of that discharge is illegal. The convoluted arguments defending these practices are mind boggling. Take for example the city of Victoria whose sewage is discharged with minimal screening directly into the ocean a kilometre away from the city and fifty meters down. It has been argued that because that the pipe discharges the city's waste into the Juan da Fuca Strait it is quickly dispersed and therefore no harm is none. Diluting the poison does not solve the problem - not when you are dumping millions of litres a year.
While it can be argued that some sorts of pollution are the result of a complex change of interactions with our environment and therefore are hard to eradicate, the dumping raw sewage into lakes, rivers and oceans is a simple chain of cause and effect. It will take money to fix the problem, to build the infrastructure but it can be done. Given the fact that at least in BC this fall is municipal election time, perhaps we should start to demand that we clean up our local waste before demanding that others clean up theirs.
Saturday, August 11, 2018
2018 On the Road Again #16
As I have travelled across the country these past few years, I have noticed that it is sometimes harder to have an engaging conversation with my last driver of the year. I think sometimes it is because I am just talked out - tired of talking, tired of telling and hearing stories. Other times it is perhaps because I am anxious to get home and it becomes hard to focus on the "now". However, on this final leg of my trip - it was an interesting and unusual conversation that kept the words flowing back and forth for much of the slightly over 700 kilometres, right until the last few feet. It had been a hard trip the first 36 hours because of the wind and the rather short rides with long waits in between rides, but the trip ended in a great ride that got me exactly to where I wanted to go. One could not ask for anything better than that.
In many ways it was a deeply personal conversation where my driver shared some aspects of his life that I think he would prefer to keep private. While the odds of someone ever reading this blog and knowing whom I am writing about are exceedingly remote, I, out of respect, for this kind and generous man feel a need to be circumspect. Not that he or anyone around him had done something wrong. He was a kind man who was considerate of others and while his politics may have been more to the right than mine, nothing he said suggested that he was anything close to a racist, or a misogynist. In general he was a fairly typical young 30 something who was just trying to succeed.
Trying to succeed was the problem. Like (I think) so many other people of his age he was faced with examples of highly successful and rich people. He wanted to be like them, he was prepared to work hard to get there, to take the necessary risks, But he wanted to get there. He had one or two friends who had gotten lucky, developed an idea and done very well; he lived with his fiancé and her parents who were very well off - some perhaps would suggest obscenely so. He kept on comparing himself to those role models - forgetting that at least in the case of the parents, that they were 40 years older than him and that it had been a long slow process of wealth accumulation.
I think he had two major difficulties - one that he was worried about how his fiancé's parents perceived him and secondly he was impatient with his progress. I am always cautious about playing therapist with my drivers. I have neither the skill, nor will we ever have chance to talk again. But I could not help but point out that he was too much in a rush, that he needed to set his own goals and to not worry about what other people thought about him. While much of our conversations was fun and wide ranging - we kept on coming back to his need to succeed. I do not think it was that he simply wanted to get rich - in fact he said that he thought his fiancé's parents were foolish to be well past retirement age and still working as hard as ever - I think he just wanted to feel that he was equally as successful. Unfortunately his only definition of success was the amount of money accumulated. He clearly had a set of skills, he was prepared to work hard and he was a nice guy. He should be satisfied with that as a starting point. I think he was a competitive guy who needed to succeed - I suspect that he will.
It, for anyone who knows me, would seem just a little bit silly that I would offer business advice. It in all likelihood be even more silly for anyone to listen to that advice. But we did talk about marketing, business plans and the like.
It was a lovely day, the truck performed flawlessly, he didn't make unneeded stops and almost all too soon we were at Tsawwassen ferry terminal. My original plan had been to get out somewhere and find a bus going to Horseshoe Bay so that I could catch a ferry to Nanaimo. My driver suggested that I get on the ferry to Victoria with him and then head up island. The thought of a long city bus trip was not that appealing. Then my driver suggested that I go to Duke Point which is just south of Nanaimo. I called a friend who said she could pick me up there and drive me home.
We got to the ferry terminal just as his ferry to Victoria was loading, I jumped out, said good bye far quicker than I would have liked and he was off. I walked to the terminal, bought a ticket to Duke Point and thirty minutes later I was on my way. Perfect timing.
It had been a good trip. In spite of the fact that the VIA train had been 12 hours late, and in spite of the fact that it felt as if I had spent a lot of time along the side of the road being almost blown over by strong winds, I had done the trip (Winnipeg to the west coast) in just over 2.5 days. Not bad for an old man!
Monday, August 6, 2018
2018 On the Road Again #15
I have stayed in Golden a number of times and generally speaking I have enjoyed my time. Once one gets of the Trans-Canada it is quite charming. I have stayed at a hostel a 15 minute or so walk off of the highway a number of times and it was my intention to do the same this time. But, partially because I got a bit confused as to which direction to go (there always seems to be a newly developed/ paved road every time I pass through the town) I decided to check out a few of the motels at the east of end of town. I thought about sleeping out - but it looked like rain and I did not want to get wet.
I walked towards a motel that looked just a little bit run down hoping that something would be available and that it would be almost affordable. It was tourist season in the Rockies and I was not optimistic about the affordable part. As I got closer to the door, I saw the sign that said no vacancy and turned away. Just as I was about to leave the parking lot, a gentleman opened the door and waved me over. I told him that I was looking for a room but that I knew he was full. He then, with some hesitation said he had one room left - but that it had a small problem. The shower was not working or at least there was no hot water. I thought that a room with no hot shower was a lot better than no room at all. We talked for a bit- negotiating in a gentle way and eventually I got the room for less significantly less than I had paid for the motel room in Portage. It was a great deal.
I got to the room, it was great with two double beds, a nice clean bathroom and far enough away from the highway that it would be quiet. While I could figure out how to wash without hot water, I was more concern that there was no alarm clock in the room. I did not want to miss my ride the next morning.
Golden, like so many cities and towns in Canada is not made for pedestrians. If one is on the south side of the Trans-Canada, one needs to walk to one end of town before there is a cross walk and lights that let one cross the service roads and the highway to get to the north side. I just wanted something at the Husky restaurant, I could see it, almost across the street from me but I had to walk 15-20 minutes to get to it.
I frequently eat at a Husky restaurant when I am travelling not because the food is exceptionally good but because it is consistent, reasonable cheap and a fast. The restaurant was almost empty and in fact it was about to close in 15 minutes. However the waitress was pleasant and assured me that the kitchen was still open. I ordered my usual two eggs with toast, and took some time to relax and slow down. I was in Golden - I had a ride to Kelowna the next day. I was pretty sure that within 36 hours I would be sleeping in my own bed. It felt good to have a place to sleep and a ride the next morning.
As I was drinking my tea, a gentleman at the next table, the waitress and I had a brief conversation about travelling and Greyhound buses (see my blog of 7/10/18 - No More Greyhound Buses). I then walked back to my room, got ready for bed and fairly quickly fell asleep.
The next morning I was up in plenty of time, had sort of a quick shower - there really was no hot water - and walked down to the west end of town. I was early and I could have hung out at the Subway restaurant waiting for my ride.....but I didn't. I thought what the heck - I might even get a better ride. So I stuck out my thumb and within five minutes it felt as if the Gods of hitchhiking were punishing me...it started to rain - hard. Within seconds there were large puddles on the side of the road and I was in danger of getting soaking wet every time a car went by. Fortunately there were not that many cars.
However three cars did stop within 15-20 minutes. One was going to Kelowna - I said thanks but no thanks, one was going to Salmon Arms - again a great ride but I said no and the third was going to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal in Vancouver. I said yes and got into the truck - putting my slightly wet pack in the back of the truck.
I felt a twinge of regret for not hanging around to complete my ride with yesterday's driver and her son, but a ride to Vancouver was just too good to miss. I suspected that both of them would have liked me to travel with them and I am sorry I couldn't. Kelowna is a terrible town to hitchhike out of and I had not been looking forward to it. This ride would get me all the way to ocean, perhaps a day earlier than I had planned.
Sunday, July 29, 2018
2018 On the Road Again #14
There are not a lot of rules in hitchhiking, but there are, at least for me, some basic assumptions. One is that women are less likely to be pick me up then are men, secondly that women with children in the car are even less likely to pick me up and thirdly that people driving white cars almost never pick me up. While the first two assumptions make some sense - I can never explain the third one. However to the best of my memory I have only had two rides in the past 16 or so years in cars that have been white. As I ran over to the young woman waving at me, I was surprised to realize her car was white. I was even more surprised when I realized that she had her five year old son in the car.
Initially, probably because that is what my sign said, she said she was happy to drive me to Calgary. Quite frankly I was so tired of the wind that a drive to Calgary would have been very welcome. However, when she said that she was driving to the Okanogan, I flipped the sign over and showed her the other side which said "Nanaimo". My driver wasn't going all of the way today - just to Golden, but that sounded pretty damn good to me. I am grateful for all of my rides, even the shortest of them; I get high just knowing of the generosity of people and the chance to meet someone new. But a nearly 800 kilometre ride is more than most. For the first time in two days I could relax and not worry about where I was going to have to stand later.
The five year old boy (he had not started school yet) was incredibly bright, spoke about science topics in complex sentences and his math skill were quite impressive. But he had no imagination. He was also bored. His mother was getting just a little bit tired of him and he was, I think, enjoying, just a little bit, finding ways of irritating her. I like little kids and for the next seven or so hours tried to include him in our conversations. At one point when we were about an hour or so east of Golden, his attention seeking behaviour became more than a little bit annoying. We were behind some slow moving trucks and he kept on demanding that his mother drive faster and faster. In spite of the fact that he could see that it would be dangerous to pass he kept on repeating - non-stop "when are we going to get to the hotel"? I tried to play silly games, talking about flying kangaroos and other silly animals - but it was like he could not imagine such animals existed. Other little kids when I do this with them, know that I am being silly but have fun with it - not this kid. I think he was quite use to being the primary person in the vehicle and he did not want to give me anything.
We stopped at two different parks so that he could get out a run around for awhile and got something to eat at the McDonalds in Medicine Hat, but these brief stops were not enough to make up for a five year old being stuck in the back seat of a car for eight hours.
HIs mom was an interesting woman. She was originally from Chile and Columbia. She came from a reasonably affluent family but was very aware of how dangerous it was to live in that part of the world. She had married a Korean, come to Canada, entered the University of Winnipeg, had a child and then split up with her husband. She was still enrolled in school but was worried about whether or not she would be allowed to stay in Canada. Because she was not a Canadian citizen, she had to pay the international tuition rate. This meant that she needed to work almost full time to earn enough money; this in turn meant that she did not carry a full course load; which meant that it was taking her longer than she was allowed to get her degree which could put her student visa at risk. I admire her commitment to education, and I suspect she would make a good Canadian, I am not sure if she will be able to jump through all of the hoops in the right order to be allowed in as an immigrant.
We talked about most things, her life, my life, Canadian politics, kids and just about every other topic one could think of. She had been almost as bored as her son and was happy to have an adult in the car. She was off to work as some sort of manager in one of the fruit orchards. She had been there before and was looking forward to a chance to work, make some money and I think for her son to have the chance to run around a little bit.
It was a pleasant drive, my driver was a good conversationalist, had interesting stories and was at other time, quite content to let me chatter on. Some of my drivers appreciate my presence in the car and drive a bit further than they had planned to. But in this case, she had already booked a room and her son was at the limits of his tolerance. As she let me out, we agreed that if the next morning I was standing on the highway, just at the end of town, that she would drive me to Kelowna. I got out and looked for a place to sleep, and equally as important - something to eat. I had, except for some McDonald fries in Medicine Hat, not eaten since the train somewhere the other side of Winnipeg, two days before.
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