You Meet the Nicest People While Waiting for the Bus
I walked to the bus stop last evening. A very pleasant young man around 40 (I’m 62, everyone is young to me) was sitting there and we struck up a conversation. I had checked my phone to see where the bus was; he said he did not have one; he did not want one. He had the internet and a landline - if people wanted to get a hold of him, they could do it that way. He spoke about how many people sit staring at their cell phones.
I have seen this same phenomenon, he has a valid point.
He mentioned that he was from somewhere else and talked about hoping to be able to “go back home” at some point. I asked him what brought him here, he said work.
Photo courtesy of Fortune & Grand Bank - Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
I asked him where home was; he said he was a Newfie. I told him I had grown up on the West Coast, that I did not miss the gloomy winters with the constant cloudiness and rains, he said it is the same back there in winter.
We talked about the seafood we missed - for him it was lobster, for me it was lingcod and sockeye salmon.
We chatted about Newfoundland for a bit.
He said he could see France from the shore of the island.
I learned from this young man that indeed, France is only 20 km from the south coast in the form of the French islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.
It’s a piece of Europe only 1-½ hours away from Canada by ferry or a 45 minute flight.
He spoke about missing the ocean and how his gills had dried out (for west coasters, it’s about our feet not being webbed anymore).
The young Newfie spoke about drinking "real moonshine. I told him on the west coast it was more about Everclear; Canadians would go to Hyder Alaska to get Hyderized by drinking a shot of Everclear.
In my day, the legend was that people had to drink a water glass but I suspect that was exaggerated - I never made it to Hyder when I lived in Prince Rupert BC.
At some point during the conversation we got on the bus. He sat in the seat behind me where we continued to chat until we got to the mall station where we parted ways.
I marvelled at the fact that we were two people from opposite ends of the country, different generations and we still found common ground. No politics, just people.
When I got home, I was curious about what he said about France being so close to Canada. I have officially added it to my bucket list. I’ve always wanted to see the east coast as well as northern Canada.
I love the way many buildings and objects are painted with bright colours out east, I wish we had more of that here. It would certainly make our monochromatic winters more colourful. The fishing boats are certainly different from the ones I worked on on the west coast; the west coasts one usually had a smaller wheelhouse and more deck space.
I learned something yesterday about our country during a very enjoyable conversation; it was a good day.
