September 22nd

Dawn did not come fast enough, but when it did it was special. We

started a fire (one match) and cooked vegetarian hot dogs for breakfast.

See photos. The fire was put out "Camp Tamarack style" with added bottles

of water from the lake to make certain no live ashes remained. Camp

Tamarack was a boy Scout Camp that my Uncle Issie and Uncle Jack founded in

Muskoka east of Bracebridge Ontario. I went there when I was nine ten and

eleven years old as a camper, and later on in life as a counsellor. Camp

tamarack "style for putting out fires was the boys lining up and urinating

on the fire.

We shared a quiet moment of reflection before leaving and we each wrote a

poem.

I am a tree.

I am a tree. But first.

I am a seedling. But first.

I am a seed. But first.

I wait.

I wait for the soil to be tilled.

I wait for the soil to be healthy.

I wait for the time of planting.

I wait for the nourishment of water.

I wait to become a tree.

I ask the Elders to come to Greenwich and explain how a tree should be

planted cared for, nurtured and grown.

I ask the elders to share their wisdom with me so we can share it with the

world

I ask the elders to help me become a tree.

I am peace.

I am a sanctuary to others.

I offer wisdom and truth

I give love.

I am compassionate and caring.

I am peace.

Barbara Cryne

So let it be

We completed this moment by picking up several pine cones and putting them

in the car. As we passed Sudbury an extraordinary view confronted us.

Clouds forming in a pattern apparently emanating from a single source. A

picture was taken to capture this phenomenon.

We continued our drive and went on to explore "government".

We talked about the importance of "curbing" ones tongue.

We came to experience a number of beautiful views and as we approached one

location I noticed that several people that had stopped also had video

cameras with them. I mused how ironic it was that these people had the

luxury of a camera while Barb and I did not allocate our resources to this

important addition. As I was taking in the view I went over to a fellow

who was just putting his camera away. I opened conversation with him and

he agreed to take some footage of me and send it on later. His name was

Rick, from Indiana and he was travelling with his wife and child. We did a

short "mission interview" with the beautiful backdrop of Agawa Bay, which I

identified in the video as Lake Superior.

We continued our drive and Barb noted that she felt she could have

contributed to the video but chose not to. I asked her to do so in the

future if she felt moved to participate. The interaction would be more

meaningful..

On the drive we past a printing shop that struck a memory bank: "Woodland

Printing" I remembered a friend Frank Meawasige who I used to do work for

back in the early eighties. We stopped in to visit, but Frank had not been

there for almost seven years himself. We went on to look for an elder to

talk with in the Serpent River Community. We found an elders home that was

run by Betty Jacob's a relative of Frank and she informed us that the best

person she could recommend was not available at the time, but we could

contact her there at another time. Her name was Sophie and she is an Aunt

to Frank Meawasige. Barb stayed and talked with Betty Jacob's for a time

while I took the mid-day sun.

The next several hours we explored various ideas and shared personal

stories..

As we approached the Sault, we decided to check out computer out and went

into Algoma Business Computers. They were very helpful and identified the

specific problem I was having to get hooked up to the Internet. We had a

short meeting with the owner Mike McGonigal and we gave him and the fellow

who helped us out Friendship pennies and a smile, and we were on our way.

Dinner was in the Sault and we had an uneventful dinner but did meet with

a touring company that takes groups of people to various parts of Canada

exploring and enjoying the beauty of this wonderful country Canada

certainly is a wonder full country.

We starting looking for a place to stay around ten o'clock. After

investigating a spectacular view ( with slightly inadequate facilities

which we chose not to take ($40) we finally came upon a pleasant little

Motel owned and operated by Dale and Marlene. The sleep there was deep in

spite of the traffic sounds throughout the night.