A picture of the Truck

Just shared a bit about the trip with CBC, New Brunswick and asked people to look out for the dragonfly-wing blue truck.  We haven't far to go now to get to Kingsbrae in St Andrews. Here are a couple of images so you know what to look for. Please do stop and share stories if you see us.

Great News about the phone

This morning after I got up, I took the SIM card out of its rice bed and then carefully cleaned rice kernels from the ports of the phone. I plugged in the charging cable and let it lie still for a few minutes before I tried anything. Then I reached down and pressed the on button and an amazing light greeted me. The phone seems to work! I know that I am blessed and double blessed for this experience and apologize for a problem it caused CBC in Fredericton.  They were waiting to interview me at 7 a.m. but I didn't get the courage to try the phone until about 9:30. I am sorry to ahve caused any problems and hope the interview can be rescheduled. The toilet story will make some people laugh - so good it had a happy ending!

So to celebrate I am going to treat you to images from the road. Sault St Marie to the ferry at the south end of Manitoulin Island.

 

Day 19 - disaster

It was the 19th day on the road.  We'd had a charmed trip with nothing but sunshine until yesterday when the oddest things appeared on the windscreen. We tried to remember where we had seen these little oblong reflective mirrors and suddenly looked at each other and shouted -"rain!"! It lasted an hour, before we were again bathed in sun.

We spent that night in Sault St Marie. The little motel advertised free movies, so, after registering, we made a tough selection in a room that took us back a decade. It was full of VCR jackets. We selected two options before heading off to the lake shore for a 'sit down and order whatever we wanted' dinner. We chose whitefish and felt nourished by both food and the view.

Cathy, frightened by an errant firework, huddled under something safe!

The next day was slightly overcast. In spite of the turn in weather, we decided to head to Manatoulin Island and see more of the rock, trees and sky that had intrigued us so far. The sun came out for our run through the Manatoulin area, on the north part of Lake Superior. The place was riddled with islands within islands within islands. Just the thing for two island girls! We drove by one island that was no more than seven feet across and bore a lone pine tree on it's rugged surface, and stopped to photograph the delicate soft green of spring that enveloped us like a lucious green pillow.

We stopped at one shop and met the white-haired owners who blessed us with stories about themselves, the pine needle art, the artisans, and a bundle of sweetgrass for our trip.

We met a curious couple while dining on more fish near the ferry terminal. They had seen the dragonfly-wing blue truck, with its cocktail glasses on the side, and tall antennae, and wondered about the series of addresses on the back. We laughed together sharing stories from our journey, and learned about great trains in India. Others were curious too, and the intrigue led to an invitation to the bridge of the ferry once it was underway. That was a treat, and we complimented the crew on the comfortable arrangements on the boat, where seating options were diverse, with scattered Adirondack chairs, long lazy wooden benches and padded cozy chairs.

I post no pictures of this trip as a tribute to my little i-phone, which had a watery death on the ferry.  I had placed the phone in my hip pocket - you know - the one that should come with a warning label for silly people like me who head to washroom without thinking. There was a terrifying plunk as I was about to sit down, and sure enough, the phone had dropped a couple of feet into the bowl. We begged a ziplock bag of rice from a kind crew member in the galley and the rest of the day I traveled in a "how could i be so stupid' funk. It's a holiday weekend and I won't know if the phone can be resurrected until Tuesday. So call us on Cathy's cel please.

It was certainly a little' d' disaster. The truck is fine, although sputtering a bit these last two days, upon starting. We are both well - staying with a friend in Milton, where we may go swimming, and will certainly enjoy a rest today.

Three Nights in Thunder Bay

“What lies before us and what lies behind us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us” - Walt Emerson. This was painted on the counter of our newest favourite coffee spot.

We have spent two days in Thunder Bay and are really getting to like overlooking the sleeping giant in this proud town on the north end of lake Superior.

Drawn to the lake as though it were the ocean, we have taken every opportunity to walk by the shore, head to lookouts or just notice water popping into view as we drive between the old cities of Port Arthur and Fort William. It was in 1970 that the two merged to become Thunder Bay. Prior to the name change people voted on three choices for a new name: Thunder Bay, The Lakehead and Lakehead. Most people voted for The Lakehead or Lakehead, but since votes were split between the two the names, Thunder Bay won the day. Is that why we have a liberal majority in BC today?

Yesterday we visited AIDS Thunder Bay with our guide, Bob. We met several of his co-workers and saw the room where clean needles are handed out, where the doctor sees clients, where the social worker spends time sorting out things like welfare and housing and even the office of the person who deals with issues related to women and HIV. There was a beautiful quilt on a wall commemorating those who are no longer among  us. 

The work this agency does is huge, and still not enough. The story I’ll share, as best I can, is the Ontario study regarding the importance of ASO’s (AIDS Service Offices) and awareness programs. Research showed that over a thousand new HIV infections had been avoided, saving the Ontario health system billions in direct costs, and even more in indirect ones. Do our governments need more than this argument for continuing to support the groups we  see struggling to provide these services? 

Today, we participated in an anti-homophobia event at City Hall. The message of love, respect and acceptance are important to be repeated each year.  We were reminded that it was only 33 years ago that the world Health Organization struck homosexuality from its list of diseases. After the flag raising we were interviewed by CBC’s Cathy Alix on the local show Voyage North, and Lakehead University’s Radio Station as well.

Sadly, we leave many new friends here in the Lakehead city of Thunder Bay. I want to dedicate this blog input  to an old GNP+ friend, Pius, whose name came up among those who helped the local AIDS movement, before he passed away. 

Time Table - One More Time

The long weekend is coming up. So far we have been as predictable on our arrivals as summer rain. You know we're coming some time!

Below is the Proposed Cross Canada Cocktail Tour Schedule from today onward. Where there are question marks, arrangements have not been confirmed (as of today). Please call us or email pegfrank@gmail.com (be sure to put Cross Canada Cocktail Tour info in the subject line) if you have any details to contribute. Otherwise we will assume that there is no event planned in those communities.

May 15, 16 - Thunder Bay - Gay Pride/AIDS Thunder Bay Event on May 17.

May 18 - drive to Sault St. Marie

May 19-20 - ? Southern Ontario - Niagara Peninsula? Guelph? …

May 21 - Toronto FIFE House in late afternoon/evening

May 22 - Brockville

May 23 -

Ottawa: morning - Museum of Science and Technology.

? Ottawa: noon-ish - Invite MPs to Parliament Pub?

? Ottawa - U. of Ottawa ?

May 24 - ? Montreal events ?

May 25 - ? Sherbrooke/Lennoxville perhaps ?

May 26 - (Quebec City area) St. Antoine de Tilly - late afternoon social

May 27 - ? New Brunswick or Amherst Nova Scotia ? (could switch dates with Halifax)

May 28 - ? Charlottetown ?

May 29 - ? Halifax or other Nova Scotia town ?

May 30 - St. Andrews

May 31 - St Andrews

Nine Circles - Winnipeg

 

Night fell before we arrived in Winnipeg. The truck and the ‘girls’ were out of gas, so we over-nighted in a quiet motel in Brandon. We watched a silly, forgettable movie and in the morning awoke to the roar of the wind, and an apparent fog. It was a prairie dust storm! Grabbing coffee and a quick toasted bagel at the motel kitchen, we headed to the nearest gas station. No power equals no gas, and none at the station across the road! Our GPS played a vital role in finding gas. Calling the nearest station we discovered that, yes - unlike most of Brandon - their power was still on. Thanking our guardian angels, we floated on fumes, until we were able to tank up.

The drive east to Winnipeg sandblasted the truck. That's not fog that's dust!

 

We called Nine Circles director, Mike, and were received warmly by the organization despite very late notice. At 3 p.m., when we pulled into the parking lot behind their new building on Broadway, Mike was there to greet us.  He brought about thirty people out - staff and clients - to look at the swaddled cocktail glass, before we took the six-foot poster and binder of pictures into the building.  

“Why nine circles?” we asked. Mike reported that clients identified nine areas important to care - hope, sanctuary, trust, support, respect, health, joy, peace and encouragement. The centre makes every effort to meet client-defined aspects of care.  

 

Next he toured us through the facility, which combined many elements of holistic health care under one roof.  Design input from HIV-positive people meant that the building had both large gathering places and an intimate round room where spiritual practices, like smudging could take place. There were offices where counseling and testing occurred, where social support was provided, where mental health issues were addressed, and others where accounts were balanced and plans developed for communication. We loved their 'ASK' postcards, where they invite people to ask any questions that we have about sex.  These, and the answers, are posted on their website - www.ninecircles.ca.

Their Vision perhaps best describes what to expect inside the doors: Client-centred care that: reduces rate of infection for HIV and STIs (sexually transmitted infections); improves quality of life for those living with and affected by HIV/AIDS; reduces the stigma and discrimination associated with sexuality and sexual health, resulting in the overall improved health of our community.

 

We spent the evening and night at the home of an old family friend of my God-daughter. We met Gina and one of her daughters - they had grown up in Zambia and moved to Winterpeg - brave women! Again we felt blessed for a warm, dry place to sleep and a delicious dinner, and it made us appreciate, yet again, the love of caring friends. We have seen others who need this kind of support.

 Cathy has a weird sense of humor and I love her for it! Here are shots at the Bakery in Falcon Lake where we ate the best cinamon buns ever and the boys promised to post our trip on their Facebook page.

 Why my bottom is on top!