I did my research and

July 31, 2002

I did my research and found out that the speaker on First Nations issues I heard on CBC was George Erasmus at the 3rd annual LaFontaine Baldwin Conference in Vancouver.

Tomorrow is the last day of the journey. I leave the next day for four days with Colin James. Comical isn’t it. I don’t look forward to going home save for seeing the cat I look forward to seeing my friends and family and the new crop of babies that was harvested in my absence. Its also been 5 months since I played hockey with my musician brothers and I look forward to that. The rest just doesn’t matter at all. I never miss the place itself. I never miss my things. I never miss my bed or my hometown hangouts. I find that Vancouverites, as in any town, are very proud of the place they live. The city is always heralded by some survey or magazine as a top ten “livable city”. Much to do is made about its picturesque beauty and cosmopolitan atmosphere. Very little is mentioned about it being insanely dank, rainy and overcast . . . In all seasons. The fall through to the spring can be like the solstice up north. Months of darkness yielding seasonal depression. This generally gray atmosphere brings about intense euphoria when it lets up. When the sun comes out it blasts the place wide open with colour. I imagine this is the same in any rain forest. Vibrant greens and blues. People go crazy. They’re out there in their shorts hanging off the edge of a speeding sailboat within ten minutes. The tops are down and all the postcard photographers rush to the carefully numbered scenic overlooks to create the image the outside world sees. Vancouver’s downtown east side is the poorest neigbourhood in the country. Crack, heroin and prostitution should be as synonymous with Vancouver as great skiing, hiking and sushi. I’ve heard some high quality strains of the drug marijuana are grown here . “High Times” may be as important to tourism as Mountainbike Magazine. Will the real shady Vancouver please stand up. There is always a downside. When you live somewhere you get both the upside and the downside. When you visit you try only for the upside. After so much flitting around I think its possible to make a good life anywhere. The network of support you build for yourself leads to feeling comfortable. If you get that together you are drawn to the place and you can safely go to bat for it beyond all logic The bleakest and most hopeless towns have the most emphatic welcome signs. The residents generally believe in these proud proclamations. “Welcome to Boonville: Home of the World’s Most Beautiful Gardens”. This may be open for debate. “The most important event in Canadian history” happened in about 2000 places by my count . That phrase is featured in everyone’s brochure. Everyplace is great. You just have to get comfortable. Some towns proclaim things that should not be proclaimed because they are trying so hard to demonstrate how comfortable they are with themselves. “Parson Creek: World’s Biggest Strip Mine”. “Welcome to Elkfoot: Visit our Highway Serial Killer Museum and Gift Shop”. “Stalingrad BC: Too Proud to Change Our Name...Not Like Those Other Wimps”. Just look at me for the best example. I could easily explain to you why the Vancouver Canucks are the best team in all of professional sport. To some foolish outsiders this seems laughable. “Our 32 years of misery” are a badge of honour ‘round this town. It has helped me understand Leaf fans. Its the pavlovian response to your comfortable things. You see those uniforms and you lose most of your critical thinking skills. You drool like a dog. Each year the Toronto papers are talking about “the drive to the cup” just around the time training camp starts up. This shows great civic pride. I understand.