~ Photography by Pat Beaudoin, Sioux Lookout Photographer
Blueberry Bert is back and on-hand for Opening Day of our annual 10-day Blueberry Festival. Highlights for me were the Scottish Pipes performance and the fun Pie-Eating Contest, blueberry pie of course. Best of all was watching my three grandchildren enjoying being together again for the month of August.
A brief history of the Blueberry Festival and this year’s Schedule of Events is here.
My granddaughter, Kelsie, graciously agreed to help me out by sitting for some tedious camera practice. We got some nice portraits but I knew the session was taking too long when…
.. her smile began to fade .. her eyes glazed over ..she began to plead
It WAS OVER when an approaching mosquito was mistaken for a monster alien wanting to devour her…. LOL
THANKS FOR HANGING IN THERE KELSIE!
(I was experimenting with various reflectors which accounts for different skin tones.)
Enroute to Barrie, Ontario we could not pass through Thunder Bay without a visit to the Terry Fox Monument. The monument and grounds are beautiful and the view serene, overlooking Lake Superior and the highway below. I never cease to feel humbled by this poignant reminder of who Terry Fox was.
Briefly, Terrance “Terry” Fox lost his leg to cancer at the young age of 18. Believing he had beat the disease by the age of 22, Terry embarked on a cross-Canada run in 1980 to raise money for cancer research – his Marathon of Hope. He began the run by dipping his artifical leg in the Atlantic Ocean and followed the highway west toward his home in British Columbia. What I remember most from watching his progress on television at the time, was the familiar “hop” to his gait as he conquered the highway, how exhausted he was at the end of each day and most of all, his incredible courage.
Sadly, after 143 days and 3,280 miles, he was forced to end his run 18 miles out of Thunder Bay because the cancer had spread to his lungs. He died June 28, 1981, a month short of his 23rd Birthday.
His spirit lives on in all those who continue to run for him each year - the annual Terry Fox Run, first held in 1981, involves millions of participants and is now the world’s largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research.
The view overlooking Lake Superior, the Sleeping Giant in the background.
There are many places on the internet to read about Terry and his courageous quest. Here are a couple of good articles from various news archives:
News Broadcast re the Unveiling of the Monument (CBC video archive)
Toronto Star Newspaper Article
Commemorating Terry Fox’s Run (You-Tube video)
This story begins back on October 7, 2004 when we two chickens ( well, one cocky rooster and an old hen) went missing from Drayton Road. We were assumed to be abducted and the mystery began. A search for us ensued over several months to no avail and we’re here to tell you that those first few months on our own were tough go’in. The truth is, we were never abducted… we were totally ABANDONED by our former owners (who out of common decency will remain nameless of course). Yep, just thrown in the back of a truck and taken to an obscure spot further down Drayton Road and dumped by the side of a road. Imagine our shock! But we should have known something was up given that it was done in such a sneaky rush… the “Nameless Ones” acting all nervous like someone was going to arrive home and catch them or something. They couldn’t get out of there fast enough!
Well, it turned out that a family lived on either side of that road. We tried to hide at first, but it is pretty tough to do while dragging a ceramic body around. The people mostly ignored us, probably totally po’d at having junk dropped off in their yard. The snow kept us warm over the winter and by Spring everyone had mellowed; before long we had grown on them and were accepted into their family. We now had a spot by the side of the road to call our own!
Oct 7th, 2004 2:37 p.m./pre-truck Oct 22nd, 2004 Feb 8th, 2005
Turns out the ”Nameless Ones” did us a huge favour – we LOVE it here with Uncle Roger and Auntie Anne!!! We hang with our best ”bud”, Licorice and now a new horse, Raven. It’s so fun to have regular meals, swim, frolic in the field with Licorice’s mega bouncy-ball and Uncle Roger even takes us for rides with Licorice! Uncle Roger’s pretty good with the poopy-scooping thing too. The puzzling posters about us that came unexpectly, anytime-anywhere, have stopped arriving for the last couple of years. Thank goodness, it near drove poor Uncle Roger crazy!
So, we are neither abducted nor abandoned - we are instead, very happy run-aways.
The mystery has ended… we confess!
HAPPY NEW YEAR
ROGER & ANNE !
