Béni soit le pardon! la pitié! la charité! la foi! Benis! Nôtres! Corps! souffrance! grandeur d'âme. Bénis la bonté surnaturelle extra-lumineuse et intelligente de l'âme!
Allen GINSBERG


Day 21

am

pm

Rides = I am still with Franck and Linda
Arrival = Vancouver
KM travelled = 915
$ spent = $9.00 (Diner, supper)
Time passed on the road = 8 am - 12 pm
km walked = 1





Last night Frank, Linda and I went camping. There we met up with Bryan, who Frank had met through the waves of his CB radio. We drank some beers, played Cribbage and listened to the all of the divorce stories of Brian. His level of drinking was affecting both his bitterness and his game. Soon he was just drinking and drifted off by himself to his own campsite, cursing his ex., the whole world and all of the birds in the campground. Frank and Linda felt sorry for him, maybe partly because they were newly weds. This trip was actually their honeymoon and it was then that they told me. I thought it was quite extraordinary that they had picked me up. I mean, are there a lot of brides and grooms that will take a hitchhiker with them on their honey moon? At some point we parted company, they went to their tent and and I went to my tent. After a little while I could hear them making love. It was kind of strange. The walls were only tents and theirs was just beside mine.

We left Golden in the morning. Brian was no where to be seen. We drove toward Kamloops making as many stops, taking as many breaks as possible. Revelstoke, Salmon Arm and all of the scenic stops and lookouts in between. Kamloops is beautiful. Frank and Linda's dream is to have as many children as possible. They would like to adopt a good dozen if possible from different parts of the world. Both are members of the Bahá'í which promotes the concept of a global society. Linda is a poet, songwriter and musician. We sang together and individually until we reached Vancouver.

The Pacific Ocean - here I was at last on the west coast! My contact here was Laurie, another friend from Canada World Youth. He was not a participant, nor a coordinator, he came to our orientation camp to give us workshops on conflict management. I walked to his apartment in Kitsilano but he was not there. He lived in an old brick building with wide hallways and transom windows. His was open. I left my pack sac in the hall and climbed over the door and pulled myself inside. I was holding the window frame with my hands and my legs. I was like a fly on a wall. There were no lights inside but I could smell a strong odour of oil paint. I waited few seconds, trying to see in the dark, trying to decide what to do next, trying to figure out the smell. Then I jumped. When I reached the freshly painted floor both my feet slipped ahead of me. I made some twists and turns before laying on my back stuck to the paint like a fly on the glue of a fly ribbon. I stood up carefully and opened the door. I grabbed my belongings and opened the light. I made a mess. I could see the print of my fall as if it was a Rorschach Inkblot Test.

Laurie came in later. He was happy to see me and did not make any fuss about the inkblot. He gave me a key to get in next time.



-Daniel





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