Wednesday, April 17, 2013

1996-06-11 Field Journal #6 @ Cortes Island

June 11, 1996, Tuesday

[23:36 @ Mary and George West’s place on Cortes Island]

Early this morning, Erica and I hugged each other good-bye, last night’s fight forgiven if not forgotten. We agreed that she will stay at Annette and Scott’s for the next two days, mostly doing phone work, while I visit Quadra and Cortes Islands today, and Port Hardy tomorrow, on my own. There is no point having her sit in the passenger seat of my car for hours on end.

Day after tomorrow, she has the option of going with me to Port Alberni , or stay on at Scott and Annette’s. I warned her of the probability of hunter presence there, but she elected to go. I respect her for that. But I wish that she elected to stay. I don’t want to have to worry about her safety as well as mine.

With the passenger seat empty, I feel a little lonely, but immensely free. I can crank up my car stereo, I can sing to the top of my lungs, I can open my heart to the Universe, I can meditate to the heart of the Cosmos.

I didn’t even mind not being able to get on the 10:30 ferry from Campbell River due to “dangerous cargo” every Tuesday. The 11:30 ferry got me to Cortes Island with time to spare.

In the early afternoon, I had a very pleasant nature hike with Noel Lax and Tanya Store, a young reporter who interviewed me during the hike, using recorder and camera, for the next issue of the Quadra paper.

In the late afternoon I took another ferry and landed on Cortes Island in time for inner at the wooded estate of Shivon Robinsong and Bill Weaver, whose wood and glass house was another one-of-a-kind. They are video documentary producers. It so happened that Diane Hardouin visited them yesterday, and talked about making a bear protection video, featuring me, to be shown in Canada 3000 airliners during flight, asking the passengers to donate their pocket change for my BET”R Campaign. Daine’s daughter Jennifer Jones died recently of a car crash at Whisler. Jennifer was a great lover of bears. In memory of her, Diane started a Jennifer Jones Foundation to raise funds for bear protection. Bill did an impromptu video shoot of me sitting on his sundeck, with big trees in the background, and being interviewed by Shivon, who used the term “whirlwind” to describe the road tour.

The presentation was gratifying, not in number, but in warmth of reception and feedback. Each and every one of the dozen or so people there signed up as volunteers. My hosts of the night are Mary and George West, a handsome middle-aged couple. My abode of the night – their one-of-a-kind log house, in a forested acreage.

Return visit invited by all, as the two Susans did, and for the same reason.


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