The West Commences: Back to the future

It’s 8:20pm, Sunday, Sept. 13, and I’m in Algoma’s Water Tower Inn and Suites in Sault Sainte Marie, Ont. I arrived at about 5:00pm and have had a sauna, shower, hot tub and dinner. What luxury. It was a long but wonderful drive today from Loon Lake. The red and pink rock cuts, evergreens and spectacular views of Lake Superior accompanied by National Public Radio, CBC, Leonard Cohen, Tina Turner and Dire Straits kept me ‘mindful’ most of the way, so time often passed enjoyably and quickly, sometimes too quickly. I was cruising along east of Wawa when I realized too late that the approaching car was an OPP. After it passed, I looked in the rear view mirror, just in time to see him make a 'U' turn and begin to follow me. I slowed down to about 110km, in a 90 zone, but too late. He had his blue and red flashers going. I pulled over and stopped. He said he had clocked me at 117km. He asked for my licence and went back to his car. I waited in mine, but I had a hopeful feeling because he was young and he had been very pleasant and only asked for my licence. He returned with a smile and a warning. I thanked him and carried on to the Sault, a little more mindful of my speed. A friend of Ross and Liz’s mentioned this hotel, and I’m glad he did.

I had a good visit in Winnipeg as usual with Danny and Rita. I saw Dawn, Leno, Aidan and Livia one night and had dinner with Laurie, Steven, Robin and Charlotte another. We drove to Pat and Joe’s place the next day. Pat fed us mostly from her garden and Joe gave Danny and me a tour of the property. He’s been working on it since 1986. What he has done is impressive and entertaining to see. Jin Hee would call it ‘unique’. I had a good dinner with my cousin Barb and her husband Denis, and left mom and dad’s urns and papers with her. Her daughter Shannon and husband Christian stopped by for dessert. It was the first time I had seen them. We were able to contact Lisa and arrange to meet her. Danny took the three women to lunch at a place Lisa suggested near St. Boniface Hospital, where she works. Just before I left, Danny checked the oil and filled the tires on my car and then took me to fill it up for the Thursday special price of 94.5 cent a liter at a local gas station. I was well rested and prepared when I hit the road for TB on Friday morning.

The GPS had a bit of trouble finding Danny and Rita’s place because of all the construction in the west end of Winnipeg. I had to resort to my old solution of asking an East Indian cab driver. As it turned out, by the time I did, I was within blocks of their place. But it did much better finding West Loon, and as soon as it instructed me to turn off the highway I knew exactly how to get to Ross and Liz’s place. It was as if I had been there recently. The entire visit with them was a flashback to the past. Liz and I began as we walked along the beach road and continued over dinner the first night. Then when Ross returned from the east we carried on through another dinner. We started again this morning at breakfast. One memory led to another with a clarity that surprised me. Of course it helped that there were three of us, each adding a piece to the puzzle. I finally had to force myself to leave much later than I had intended to. To be continued on my return visit to TB.

The Boyce plot in Elmwood Cemetery in Winnipeg. Only the headstone was clearly visible. Danny found the buried marble name plates for grandma and grandpa Boyce and mom and dad. In the years since dad had the grave site improved in 1992, they had been covered by sod.