"I'm in trouble," I thought. I had left town already, and I was starving. I looked around a bit and saw a little fish and chips stand across the highway and thought, "Well, I didn't know I wanted fish for breakfast, but I guess I do."
When I got in line there were four people in front of me and I figured it was going to stay busy, but by the time I ordered everyone else had left, and no one else was coming, so I started talking to the owner, Percy, and I quickly understood why I was at a fish stand for breakfast. This guy was awesome. A native man (half native I found out later) with a tremendous amount of life experience, and was certainly on a spiritual path that I cannot even begin to understand.
Percy served my food and I stood in the window of the stand and we had a wonderful conversation while I ate. He told me about growing up in the area (there is even a bay named after his family) and working jobs like mining, sandblasting, and now cooking. He said, "I never made burgers before this, eh, but I like it. My wife told me, 'you can't do that work.' And I said, 'If I die making burgers I'll die happy, but if I die on the couch at home I will die the most miserable death any man could ask for."
This is a man who knows what he wants and how to get it and then just does it. He says, "If I could have anything in the world at my age (65) it would be an education, eh. I'm good at most things I do, but an education would make me unstoppable." And I believe him.
Growing up Percy was around the elder natives in the area, and they called him Shaganash his whole life. "My mother was white, and that made me less dark than the rest of my family, so they called me Shaganash. It means 'white man'. It stuck, and even all through school people called me Shaganash, or Shag."
He also told me that the remembers one of the elders telling him, "One man is given the gift of the mind, and another is given the gift of the mouth. The creator does this so that we have to work together. No one man can do it alone." That sounds familiar!
Having a fish breakfast with Percy was a tremendous gift this morning, and a good reminder that I cannot possibly begin to plan the great parts of this trip. Thanks, Shaganash!
Shortly after leaving Percy's fish stand I was riding with Lake Superior on my left. It was beautiful, and the weather was so nice that I even had a few moments where I felt cold! I was amazed at the variety in the landscape here along Canada 17. There are more types of rocks than I think I have ever seen in one place, and there is an incredible amount of water around. There are rivers, creeks, and lakes around every corner. My favorites were Mom Lake on the right, Dad Lake on the left, and the Baby Lake on the right. But this was the most beautiful spot I stopped:
I stopped later for a little break overlooking Lake Superior:
And while I was there I noticed a new kind of graffiti. It seems that the thing to do when traveling across Canada is to take a Sharpie and write who you are and what trip you are taking for others to come see:
I wish I'd brought a Sharpie…
Later in the day I came to White River, Ontario, and the most exciting moment of the trip for my passengers. I've mentioned before that I have teddy bears on my bike, but I didn't tell you that they are Paddington and Pooh, and they rode in my mom's car for many years. For the most part they have sat quietly for 9000+ miles, but today they jumped off and ran up to have a look at this:
It turns out that a black bear was born in White River and taken back to the London Zoo and named Winnie. It was this bear that helped inspire A.A. Milne to write the Winnie-the-Pooh stories. Now Pooh has a better knowledge of his lineage, even if I did have to read the plaque to him. I knew there was a reason I brought them along…
The day ended in Marathon, Ontario, a town that exists today because of the gold mines nearby. The meeting was the Nor Wester group, and it was another book study. It was a pleasure to be a part of a small tight-knit group and discuss the process of making amends, and the freedom that comes from it. Thanks, Nor Wester Group!
