Young Chronicles: Rocks from Across Canada

I collected a rock from every province/territory on my Cross-Canada Hitchhiking trip in 1983 and described each one briefly in my journal.

Rock #1 Cavendish Beach, Prince Edward Island: Smooth and rounded, a single white stripe down the side and bit of ocean scum

Rock #2 Cornerbrook, Newfoundland: Jagged, almost gold, sparkling, a 3-D trapezoid

Rock #3 Sydney, Nova Scotia: Small, white polka dots on white, a few glitters

Rock #4 Kouchibouguac National Park, New Brunswick: Orange and broken, rectangular

Rock #5 Metis Beach, Quebec: An unfinished sculpture, black with streaks of green; looks like a bird, jagged and rectangular, when stood on one end

Rock #6 Wawa, Ontario: Dark, weathered and a broken top

Rock #7 Regina, Saskatchewan: Yellowish white of small proportions, chipped

Rock #8: Edmonton Fort, Alberta: Rounded, light brown with white streaks. Pock-marked and lop-sided

Rock #9: Grey Mountain, Yukon: Egg-shaped and worn. Covered in moss shit.

Rock #10 Wreck Beach, British Columbia: black, warped, dent in one side, speckled with grey.

I failed to get to a rock from Manitoba. Not sure why. There were plenty of rocks there.

My backpack at the base of a Trans Canada Highway sign in Manitoba

Young Chronicles IX: Cavendish Beach, Prince Edward Island

I spent three days on Cavendish Beach, PEI in early June 1983, eating nothing but peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I wrote the following at the conclusion:

Solitude is a necessary state that all should experience for some extended period of time. It must also be noted that man should not be in this state for too long lest he lose his sanity. Man is an insecure beast. So be it. Not only is he dependent on other men but also on external imaginary forces. It is man’s brooding mind that entrances him upon such a state. .

The fact that we are aware of our existence does not prove our existence; it only clarifies our insecurities. Does a bird brood upon its existence? Nay. It is because it has no reason to, as it concentrates its attention on the day-to-day. Man, in his comfortable and unnatural state, is cursed with his awareness. He cannot enjoy life as it is because he worries for the future. And so do I.

This I write to my future wife. The skies may cloud, the seas roughen, the days grow dark, but we will walk upon the crimson dunes of time (sic) together with the swallow at the glimmer of first light. Let us dig in our footholds together.

Remember: I ate nothing but peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Top Ten Rocks

Like everyone, I’m always looking to make sense of my life through the things I’ve done and collected. I’ve sorted my concert tickets, taken on-line challenges and put virtual pins in virtual maps. But when it comes down it, everything is about rocks. I have been collecting them since hitchhiking across Canada in 1983, accumulating hundred in jars and spreading them on shelves. And so here they are, my top ten!

All together in a group shot for some perspective.

Top Ten Rocks

Canada’s Soul: On Being Alone

While camping on Prince Edward Island at Cavendish Beach for two days in 1983, I reflected on “being alone”:

Solitude is a necessary state, that I feel that all men should experience for some intended period of time. But also, it must be noted that man should not be in this state for too long a period, lest he lose his sanity.20161203_180038

Man is an insecure beast – so be it. The fact that we are aware of our existence does not prove our existence. It only clarifies our insecurities. Man in his comfortable and unnatural state has time to reflect on more than the today. Man cannot enjoy life as it is, because he worries of the future. And so do I.

I hitchhiked from Prince Edward Island to the North Sydney, the ferry terminus to Newfoundland, seven rides in all, the last driver who told me that he preferred female hitchhikers because “you never know what might happen.”20161203_175640