Flowers

When I left you last, I was living in a VW parking lot waiting for the service station to open. Well, while we were waiting, Dylan flipped through the owners manual of the '81 Vanagon, located the starter, wacked it with a crow bar and just like that it started up! It was 9:30pm, but the van was packed up and rolling about two minutes later. I suppose you could say we waited in that parking lot for nothing, but I think it happened for a reason. If we hadn't broken down, I never would have played that show at the cavern, so I think things turned out for the best. I just got an email from James Brown, the manager of the bar where I played. I left a CD with him, and he said he enjoyed it, and said I sounded kind of like Joel Plaskett or Tom Petty. I am flattered by a comparison like that!
So from Winnipeg we made our way up to lake country in northern Ontario. Slept at a really nice rest stop, and in the morning I jumped into the lake for a swim/bath...(I think it was Dixie Lake) The water was crystal clear and really warm, but after I got dried off and dressed, I noticed something poke its head out of the water and look around. It turned out to be one of the biggest turtles I have ever seen. I'm glad I only noticed it after, cause I don't think I would have jumped in for a swim with him. Against my advice, Dylan fed him some bread...lol
We then went to Red Lake to visit with Dylan's friends Mike and Amy. We had a great meal, a great sleep in a bed, a shower...It was a really nice recharge for us, I can't thanks them enough for their kindness. I gave them my CD, and they both seemed to enjoy it. The next day we made it to Sault St. Marie. On the way we passed Old Woman Bay during some heavy wind. The water was a magical shade of blue, and the waves were huge! It reminded me of one time when I was young, travelling back to New Richmond from Campbellton, and in Maria, the wind made the waves in the bay crazy. We pulled over, and we all jumped into the water for a swim, and we got thrown around by the crashing waves. I remember asking my eldest sister if she remembered that day. She did, but her memory was very different from mine. Her memory was one of panic. Since she was the oldest child, and shared the responsibility of keeping the younger ones from being pulled by the undertow.
We took it easy today. Gave the van an oil change, only drove for about six or seven hours. We picked up another hitch hiker. His name is Zohar (AKA Alex) He had VW van on his T shirt, so we just had to pick him up. He was full of questions, and really excited about driving in a Westy...So Dylan and I romanticised it a little for him, even though travelling in these things is not as easy as it sounds. you need to be in kind of a zen-like state knowing that each time you turn the key, it may not start, every time you slow down you could stall, if you are on a hill that is too steep, you may need to turn around and find anothr way...and you could end up stranded in Winnipeg for three days...lol
Zohar bought my CD.
I can feel some new songs brewing, but I need to be alone to work them out. I will have some time when I get to the Townships in a few days to go somewhere quiet and see how the musical part of my brain has processed the trip.
One thing that sticks with me...Flowers. I've lost count of the number of times we've passed bouquets and wreathes of flowers on the side of the road, no doubt in memory of people who have died or disappeared from there. Sad. And definitely sends a blow to the invincibility you feel watching the world go by at one hundred kilometers per hour.