Rainbow Falls to Pukaskwa National Park
Yesterday we found out our neighbors
at the campsite were pipers on their way to a Celtic festival in
Thunder Bay. Would we mind if they practiced their bagpipes?
Wonderful we told them and pointed out a great rock jutting out into
the lake and suggested they sit there, but watch out for the silkies.
In fact, between my performance and their schedule we never heard
them. I wish we had.
When I first set up the tour, I
thought I would be telling in the Schreiber library, but instead it
became a festival performance, part of the Schreiber Heritage Days.
Would I be willing to do an outside
performance. I gave a firm “No!”
Festivals are great for folk singers
and pipers. Audience members wander by, stay for a while and move
on. This doesn't work for storytellers who need their audiences to
be there at the beginning of the stories and stay until the end. A
tent works better than the open air but best is a room somewhere.
We agreed that I would tell at the
Schreiber Recreation Center and that is where we went. I found out
later that the frantic librarian had sent me a message to tell me
that an important Italian resident had died and the funeral reception
was at the recreation center. When we arrived there were dozens of
men in black suits coming out the door and one worried looking
librarian.
My performance would be at the hockey
arena next door. This was a first for me!
I was now supposed to tell stories in
a narrow space in front of bleachers. I gave a firm “No!”
I explained that I have been doing
this for thirty years and experienced everything (except a hockey
arena). When a pre-schooler sits on bleachers he/she cannot help
kicked at the wood beneath making a lovely drumming sound.
Multiply that by two dozen pre-schoolers and even bagpipes can't be
heard. This is fine at a hockey match but not at a storytelling
performance. I spotted a space in a corner. There was a rug there,
dirty but possible. The librarian found the last few chairs that
hadn't been taken by the funeral party and we began.
In fact the performance went well and
again, I am to e-mail next time I make the Circle.
****
We love the Canadian stories we hear.
Marlene, a camper from New Brunswick, told me that when the Walmart
opened, they closed all the businesses and schools and everybody
went.
We've noticed all the workers at the
provincial parks. I stopped to talk to two young people who were
shoveling gravel and sand into holes on a park road. They were
college students with summer jobs. Is the pay good? Only $10.50 an
hour, the minimum wage in Canada. I told them the minimum wage in
Wisconsin is $7.25 and Canadian money is worth more.
Doesn't it make sense for the
government to hire more workers and pay them decent wages? Yet the US
Congress keeps holding up the jobs program. People who earn money
spend money, which is good for business. They pay taxes, too.
***
Gary packed up everything this morning
and we are on the road. I say Gary because he's the one that
brought an impossible amount of stuff. He thinks we have a dozen
flashlights and at this time of year this far north the sun sets
around 11:00. I went down to the shore to watch the waves fill the
tide pools. Somebody has to make sure this is done correctly.
The temperatures are moderate during
the day, almost cold at night. We are glad to be here and not
suffering the Wisconsin heat.
***
Today Wade Peterson and I welcome a new writer to Black Coffee Fiction http://blackcoffeefiction.blogspot.com Bettyann Moore is a former editor and publisher who has been writing short stories since the 1970s. Her first Porpoise McAllister story will be on line about 4:00 p.m.
***
For the next three nights we expect to be camping in a Canadian national park. I may not be able to post but I will keep writing and get everything on line when I can.
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