je sis un homme pour qui le monde extérieur existe.
Théophile Gautier


Day 19

am

pm (Cool)

Rides = 2
Arrival = Calgary
KM travelled = 1336
$ spent = $4.00 (chips and chocolate bars)
Time passed on the road = 11 am - 3:30 am
km walked = 2



I never thought that I would get to Calgary today. I had some bad vibes with my first lift. The guy was going to MacGregor, 120 km west of Winnipeg. He kept grabbing his sex, adjusting the thing, or scratching an itchy spot. Every time he worked on himself, he would glanced at me. I was not too sure of how to interpret these signals. We drove in silence and nothing happened.

1 pm
Lester picked me up in MacGregor. He was going to Calgary! A 14 hour ride! We spoke of all imaginable topics and interests while driving in a straight line. I slept for the latter part of the ride. At 3:30 in the morning I was awakened with the words: "Welcome to the beautiful city of Calgary!" The Calgary Stampede ended a few hours before our arrival. It was too bad, I would have liked to see some of the festivities. Les dropped me downtown at the Via Rail Train Station, just under the Calgary Tower. I found a bench and went to sleep without delay. One hour later, a security guard walked over to me and said, "Wake up!" I woke up. I looked at him with small eyes and sat up. He said, "You can't stay here. This is a public place. You must get out." I did, but not for very long. It was very cold outside, less than ten degrees Celsius. I walked around the block shivering and went back into the station. Nobody was around. I found another bench and fell asleep. Forty five minutes later the same guard came back. I heard his footsteps, which were amplified by the echo of the room. He was mad.

"I told you to get out, didn't I?"

"Shht," I said putting my finger on my lips. "I am meditating...harer nama harer nama...harer nama harer nama." My eyes were half shut but I still could see him. He was standing in front of me looking as if he was weighing the possible truth in what I was saying. I kept repeating the mantra, "...harer nama harer nama...harer nama harer nama... ," hoping that he would go away.

"Come on, get out!" the guard finally said, "This is a public place."

Looking directly into his eyes, I said, "Am I not part of that public?"

"Get up and get out!" he said. He did not think that this was very funny. He raised his hand and with a swift rotation of his wrist, as if he was dialling a telephone number, he pointed to the exit door.

5:30 am
The sun was rising. It was still cold. I walked through downtown and made my way to the Trans Canada Highway. There were already four hitchhikers on the road. I walked past their positions and said hello to all who were before me in the queue.



-Daniel





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