I call this column Editorial Reflections for a reason as in this time of my life it's seems like I'm looking in the rear view mirror of my life more often than not. This morning, April, 7, was no exception, driving from Clearwater to the Barriere Star Journal office along Highway 5 I did a double take seeing a flash of red and yellow on the bank as I passed by and then noting a bike with a small trailer attached, realizing it was a person sitting on the side of the bank who looked like he was making breakfast!
I quickly turned around in the pull out ahead and drove back turning into a dirt drive to head back that way, pulling well off onto the shoulder of the road with my flashers on just in case I rolled down my window and asked, "Hello there, are you drawing attention to a specific cause to raise awareness or just travelling?" The gentleman smiled and kept preparing what looked like his breakfast next to a babbling brook running down the sidehill and said, "No, I just like travelling on a whim. I love the outdoors and I've just come from Edmonton heading to Vancouver, but first going to Indian Arm in the Shuswap, on to Penticton to kayak a bit and then to the coast."
My spirits lifted as I introduced myself as the editor of two rural newspapers in the North Thompson and asked if he'd mind if I took his photo. He agreed readily so I walked over across from him and could see he was slicing up a banana into some flour mixture, having a mini frying pan on a small camp burner. A large blue enamel coffee pot tilted to the side and a glass french press coffee maker close by as he continued our conversation as though this was nothing unusual.
The morning was warm, with a slight breeze and every now and then the noise of a big transport going by had us repeating ourselves. I asked if he'd mind telling me his age and what his career path was or had been. He answered with a smile, "I was what you might call a computer nerd. I'm 55, no kids, I just enjoy travelling like this on a whim." My next question, "Do you carry a cell phone with you?" And the reply, "No I know it sounds weird but I've never had one. I don't really like technology," he said with a chuckle.
Then he said something that caught me off guard, "I actually trade in stocks. Today was a perfect day for that with everything crashing. I've already done that earlier before stopping to make breakfast. I love brooks and streams and try to find one each day to have breakfast next to."
We chatted a little about "this crazy old world" and whether he would head to Vancouver Island once he reached Vancouver. I asked if he'd been to Wells Gray Park and he said he had gone through the area a few times, twice from Ontario to Vancouver. A former tourism marketer, I gushed, "Oh you have to explore Wells Gray Park, I'm biased of course since it's my home area, but it's amazing!" To which he replied, "I have to save some stuff for my next trips you know. Can't do everything, see everything at once."
I wished him a safe trip, saying he had really made my day and as I drove away I couldn't help but feel uplifted, inspired in fact. Forgive me for saying, but life really is like a box of chocolates, you never really know what you are 'gonna get' and just as I started to sing to Harvest Gold that I had playing when I stopped, two eagles flew low ahead of me, something I've always thought of as a special sign for something good to come. As I looked in my rear view mirror reflecting upon the simplicity of a man making banana pancakes, by a stream with the smell of his coffee lingering in the air, as he seemed to shine with the peace of starting his day that way.
To quote the movie, Forrest Gump, "I don't know if we each have a destiny, or if we're all just floatin' around accidental-like on a breeze, but I, I think maybe it's both. Maybe both is happenin' at the same time." And... "That's all I've got to say about that!"
