sometimes life is hard to imagine

Hey there gang, it’s been quite a while since I checked into this blog, but the timing seems about right to do an emotional download into the dub-dub-dub-diary. It’s been quite an emotional rollercoaster over the past months. After finishing my bike ride through the states I returned to Calgary, Canada to begin researching my Lonely Planet project. Research started off great and has just gotten better. Leaving Calgary I headed East onto the wide open prairies and big skies of Saskatchewan. With towns few and far between, the pulsing rock and roll of the car stereo was my best travelling companion. Prairie dogs scurried across the road as I thundered past, oceans of wheat swaying to the beat and the odd grain elevator arising from the horizon like a lighthouse. The warm summer sun melted the blacktop and made the light shimmer into an oasis of heat rising from the road. Small towns came and went; Eastend, Moose Jaw, Val Marie, Maple Creek, La Ronge, Saskatoon and Regina. Some were good, some were bad. Some were worth the stop, some were only good for the fill of fuel and some I will never forget. I will never forget the Native Elder I met in La Ronge who sat with me for two hours and told me about the old ways. He told me about when there was no white men, about the days when they would hunt for all of there food, before the road.

The road pulled me ever onwards into my home province of Alberta. First to Edmonton where the hip, cosmopolitan neighbourhoods were a shock to the system. Then north, way north to the frontier. Villages like Grimshaw, Grand Prairie and Grande Cache were carved from the tree covered foothills. Then south into the Rockies, first Jasper then onwards to Lake Louise and Banff. They say that home is where the heart is, and maybe a small bit of my heart will always live up in those mountains. It’s where I learned to climb, learned to take care of myself in the mountains and in the world. It’s where I learned about life and death and discovered how beautiful the world can be. Stopping and looking at mountains that defined my growth as a person was surprisingly emotional. Soon the mountains turned to hills once again and the gravitational pull of Calgary pulled me in once again.

Back in the house that I grew up in, resigned to taking a few days to recharge my batteries – one phone call changed everything. Early one morning I was awoken by the phone, it was early, good news never comes early. My grandmother was gone, not far from her 92nd birthday she was working in her garden and fell. We will never know if the heart attack or the fall came first, but the result was the same. The shock was overwhelming – despite her age, we all thought she would live forever. An amazing woman who lived a life that we should all be proud of. She dedicated her life to helping others through charity work and volunteering. A standout member of numerous philanthropic organizations she was a legend in her home town of Mississauga Ontario. She was the former citizen of the year, the two time volunteer of the year award winner for the VON group; she had received letters of commendation from the Prime Minister, The Premier, The Mayor and her member of parliament. She taught aerobics to Parkinson’s patients into her 90’s, she acted as a driver for the Red Cross for 25 years and opened her home to those in need throughout her life. Whether it was a person getting over a stroke or a cancer patient going through chemotherapy – Grandma K welcomed them all with open arms. And it’s those open arms I will never forget. She loved her family, her children, grand children and great grand children with such affection that none of us will ever forget the love that came through her tiny frame when she gave you a big cuddle.

The funeral was a magical day. We gathered near to where Grandma was born and told stories of the remarkable woman. We laughed and we cried and we said goodbye. She was an amazing woman and we are all going to miss her – and if we all work hard, maybe our combined efforts will come close to filling her shoes…

I’m back in Calgary now, the Stampede is on and I’m back to my research – it’s great to be back on the job. Although it was a tough trip to make out east – it was a great celebration of a fantastic life lived and a nice catch up with family I don’t often get to see. But I’ve been welcomed back with bucking bronks, raging bulls and speeding chuckwagons. It’s just like the good ol days complete with greasy nachos and overpriced beers. Well I better run – I’ve got a book to write…..

Here is my summer mixtape play list:
No Cars Go – The Arcade Fire
Hailing – FC Kahuna
Walk Unafraid – REM
Elementary – Lucy’s Fur Coat
Hard to Imagine – Pearl Jam
The Lonely End of the Rink – The Tragically Hip
Not Ready to Make Nice – The Dixie Chicks
Parting Ways – Pearl Jam
Wake Up – The Arcade Fire
Make this go on Forever – Snow Patrol
We’re All in This Together – Ben Lee

I’ll leave you with the words of Mahatma Gandhi that never rang more true:
“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Be well,
~Scott