Where I had gotten to was Kamloops.  I’m gonna stray a bit from only talking about the people who gave me rides so I can tell you how I got to bed that night.

I walked downhill from the outskirts of town towards the center as far as I could see it.  I was stopped and looking around by a gas station when a big guy in a leather jacket asked me, “Do you know where you’re goin?”  It was pretty obvious that I didn’t and I tried to act like I did but he knew where the shelter was so I went with him.  I took comfort in having a knife in my pocket.  He was a really nice guy though, Hell’s Angel with rotted teeth, but very helpful.  He led me to the shelter and told me about two places that give out meals.  There was an hour til the shelter closed it’s doors for the night so we sat outside and he regaled me with horrible prison stories and fights and stuff as I smoked and listened.

The first honest trucker I’ve met.  As far as his job goes anyway.  Kept his hours regularly and his cargo weight in check.  Nothing against the one that cheated (they were more interesting to talk to).  He was an old guy and had a few good cheating death stories like beating cancer.

He bought me soup at a stop.  That’s what he offered so that’s what I ordered even though he ordered soup and a cheeseburger.  The girl brought his soup in an app bowl and didn’t bring mine until after his burger and then it was an entrée bowl.  He was done his burger and I tipped the bowl to my mouth to catch up.

I was nodding off for awhile, unable to see the mountains in the dark, when he stopped, saying,”I’m gonna find a place to turn in so I’ll let you out here”.  I was planning on riding to Vancouver with him but I guess not.  I got out, grabbed my stuff and watched him drive off.  Then, looking around at a few stores and lights in the dark around midnight I wondered “Where am I?”

From Lake Louise to a truck stop a little down the road was a ride from a guy in a half full pickup truck.  My stuff barely fit, the seatbelt barely fastened and the door didn’t really close all the way.  I pictured the door swinging open and me flying out, clinging on the door handle, my feet skipping on the pavement, only to be knocked onto a road rash by my bags falling out after me.

It didn’t happen and the ride got me to a good spot.

I’m a big fan of both the Zeitgeist movies (the second one in particular)

This is a good follow up to those movies just in case you got lazy and forgot about being fired up about a new system!!

Would it help me out to get a ride to Lake Louise?  Sure, why not?

Cool guy in a suped up Hyundai Swift, if that’s a car.  He gunned it and shot right up to 160 at least.

“I’d drive you all the way to Vancouver and we could party it up if I didn’t have a girlfriend”

Well, that would’ve been cool but looking at it retrospectively I would’ve missed a lot (about 17 rides)

You know what’s wrong with rhyming dictionaries?  They suck.  As a musician I have resorted to these when I’m writing lyrics and it doesn’t help at all.  I don’t need obvious rhymes!  I need rhymes I wouldn’t think of on my own.

So I’ve decided to start a musicians resource on my website for unconventional rhymes…

Today I will be doing:  Consequences

..on the senses

..on the fence is..

..down defences

..caught defenseless

..fond romances

..kind that quenches

..my descendants

..calm consesus

..lost apendage

..wrong revenge is..

..close percentage

There’s a few for now.  If anyone has any good ones they would like to add I would greatly appreciate some more input!

Also if anyone maybe has some writers block on a particular rhyme scheme let me know and we’ll throw some ideas around.  I’ll come up with some, someone else will come up with some, it’ll be great and clever.

If only I’d thought of this before Beyonce recorded Put A Ring On It

I awoke and looked out the window.  The forest is full of smoke!!  I burnt down Banff!

I soon realized that’s just what clouds look like against the mountains..

The decision to leave came early and suddenly as I looked at myself in the mirror at the Banff hostel and realized I couldn’t stop until I got to Van City.  I had been tossing around the idea of getting a job cooking in Banff and staying there for awhile.  But I couldn’t settle yet.  So I wrote a sign – VAN – and headed out.  I chuckled to myself as I pondered peoples reaction to reading the sign; “Why’s he want a ride in a van specifically?”

I hiked through the woods in an estimated shortcut to the highway guided by pure direction sense.  And to my surprise I was right.  I got picked up walking the road to the highway exit and got whisked to an exit on the other side of Banff, to my advantage but making my intuitive hike through the wilderness futile.

Nice guy.  If I’d recorded this earlier I could probably recall something memorable but no impression was left except that he thought he might see me again.  Oh yeah, and his name was Kenny.

This would seem to be absolutely unbelievable and yet here we are.

I trust you know the whole argument over Bill C-6 so I wont reiterate too much of what’s already been said.  I do, however, want to make it perfectly clear:  Passing this bill hurts You and Me and everyone we know.

The “civilized” world seems to be spiraling down into an Orwelian dystopia.  At what point do YOU say, “Wait a second.  I went into politics to make a difference, to raise the Quality of the world we live in.”  Or maybe I’m wrong and you went into politics to cater to Big Business, Big PHARMA and everyone else who has plenty of money and all they want is more of it.

The simple right to food that is good for us is a basic right of being alive!  Should we be less healthy then our primitive ancestors?  Have we no aspirations as a species to achieve something better for ourselves?  Anyone who eats healthy knows the effect it can have on the quality of their life.  More energy, more motivation.  It makes more sense, for the efficiency of our society, to raid McDonalds and fine them exorbitant amounts of dollars for peddling low quality, unnatural, unnutritious food products.  Does that not make sense?  What kind of a world are we trying to make here?

You’re in politics and I respect that.  You can affect things, shape the way the world works.  I sure it’s very difficult because from where I’m standing it appears that nothing productive is actually being accomplished amongst the bombardment of everyone pushing in their own agenda, trying to make themselves as wealthy and successful as possible.  I’m sure it’s very easy to lose sight of the big picture when this is what you deal with every day.

But please, I implore, a view of the big picture in this issue, and ideally all issues, is so very necessary.  It’s obvious that this bill does nothing except an insulting disservice to peaceful people that just want to live.  How could YOU let this happen?  You obviously can’t.  It would be inhuman.

But you are in politics and I am not and perhaps there is some reason that I don’t understand why this is good for us but please, ask yourself this, you who shape the world I live in, ask this of any bill you pass:  Is this taking us deeper into a dystopian society of an unhappy, suspicious and volatile populous or will this facilitate a more effective society, an efficient and happier society, a more gratified society that feels their public officials are there for them and are glad they’re there.

Thanks for your time and I hope you do the right thing.

Trevor Porter

Awake. Blue.

Shit, that’s a lot of smoke! As I pull on my boots the grass right in front of me bursts into flames.  After some good stomping it was back down to the water then back up the mountain again.  Mental note, next time build the fire closer to the water.  What a terrible trip to lay on someone on about an hours sleep in three days, sexually frustrated and full of booze.

We spent the morning in the girls’ truck, getting out of some light rain.  A little too light to ease my mind..

The rain stopped and some sun came out and the girls decided to leave.  We took some pictures together and exchanged emails.  Me and Dylan decided to go for one last hike in the woods.  We made our way back around the the campsite.  There was some smoke..

“Shit!  This dead tree’s about to go right up!” He’s right!

“You watch it, I’ll get water!”  Down I go, back up, find the fire again.  You know the drill.  We both made certain it was out this time, digging up any parts around that looked iffy.  It had been burrowing under the big rock we built it by, spreading through the moss and popping up in unexpected places.  We cut it off at every end and left it for good.  It would be ironic if I started a forest fire when I came out here with the idea of helping out with the forest fires.  Maybe I can put this on my resume?

Dylan hung around ’til 4:20 and left me at the hostel.  I slept.

So I wake up.  Black.  Where am I?  Saskatoon?  Gotta get back to the hostel..  Oh wait, I remember.  I’m camping.

Shouldn’t the fire be inside the circle?  I should do something about that.  Stomp Stomp.  That’s not working.  Water?  No?  This is serious..  Beer?  Tears roll down my cheeks as the heavenly liquid screams and evaporates on the embers.  Still some heaters left..no more liquids…?  Well maybe one.  Zzip.

That should do it..

So I wake up.  Dark blue.  Uh-oh.  That’s spreading.  Water in the car GO.  Up the mountain.  Locked door. Locked door.  Open door!  Sweet.  I tried not to wake up the girls, who were sleeping in their truck next to Dylan’s car, but I couldn’t get the door shut so I had to slam it a few times and eventually leave it which the girls later said they thought was someone trying to break in.  So I’m barrelin down the mountain with empty water bottles to the lake at the bottom.

On my way up I lost track of the campsite.  Can’t find the fire.  Can’t find the fire.  There it is!  With the water and some stomping with a rock – with one to my finger that blood-blistered my fingertip and bruised the nail – it was out.  Pretty much..