HOUSE OF READING

I am writing this post in November, 2017. Ron’s epic reading tour five months ago, and our travels from Nanoose Bay through the Okanagan, the Kootenays and the Rockies to Calgary, and back to Nanoose via Kamloops, the Cariboo, Prince George and the Hazeltons, seem, like the Skeena, the river of mists, to have receded into the shape shifting world of memory. Yet a journey, once begun, seeks an ending . . .

The evening of Tuesday, June 20, found Ron seated at a table in the multi-purpose room in the Prince Rupert Library. The group assembled around him was small. It numbered the librarian, Kathleen, one sprightly senior from the general public, me, and Richard Wilson and his wife, Sharlene. Richard is a stroke survivor and he and Sharlene are the facilitators for the Living with Stroke program in Prince Rupert. Like Ron, Richard’s stroke has left him easily fatigued and reluctant to drive. Fortunately, he is still able to sing and play the guitar and his music has become the central focus of his life. He plays in a band which was to perform the next day at the Aboriginal Day celebrations taking place in Prince Rupert. As we were leaving Kathleen presented Ron with one of the library’s book bags which are decorated with Henry Green’s beautiful black and red stylized drawing of a halibut. The bottom of the bag reads:  Wap Liitsx   House of Reading

Prince Rupert is located in the traditional territory of the Tsimshian First Nation and has been a trading centre for thousands of years. More recently the trade was in sea otter pelts and then salmon. Historic canneries abound here. Today Prince Rupert is a thriving container port, in large part because it is the closest Pacific port for rail traffic going to and coming from Chicago and environs.

Ron gave his final presentation of the tour at a Lunch and Learn session at the Prince Rupert Hospital on Wednesday. It was a lively affair, attended by many student therapists in residence. One student was from New Brunswick, others from Ontario, while the majority were from BC. All had lots of questions and the session lasted long after the lunch hour.

In addition to his “official” duties Ron had a personal reason for visiting Prince Rupert. When he was eighteen he had spent a summer there working at various jobs. (When the rain lets up and the sun comes out it is common practice for people in Prince Rupert to take a “Sun Day” and quit their jobs.) At the end of the summer Ron was hired to work on a drum seiner. His memories of Prince Rupert and his voyage on the fishing boat down the coast to Vancouver have haunted him ever since. So, between and after Ron’s “official venues”, we drove around the town and spent time in the local archives while he reoriented himself and revitalized his recollections. His goal: to write a novel based on his “coming of age” experience.

Our own journey ended with a voyage down the Inside Passage. We had booked a travel package with BC Ferries and had to be at the terminal to board the Northern Expedition at 5 am on Thursday, June 22. We spent the first four hours of the trip sleeping in the cabin we had reserved and the rest of the day soaking up the scenery. As the vessel approached the southernmost tip of Haida Gwaii and Queen Charlotte Sound, we made our way to the back of the boat to enjoy the summer solstice sun set over the Pacific Ocean. Fortunately the sea was calm and the drama of fire into water long. The only distraction was the smell of smoke and the curious sight of vapers. (Why does BC Ferries let smokers have the best viewing area on this run?) The sunset coincided with our arrival at Cape Scott on the northernmost tip of Vancouver Island. The darkening island sent an unspoken promise: HOME. SOON.