Update

Just a quick update...

• I thought I was going to Europe on a trip for work, at the end of September, but that has been postponed.
• After the 13 km run for Terry Fox, I feel fairly fit for the first time in a long time. Unfortunately, I also feel exhausted. It has been a long week.
• I only have 2 TV channels and have not yet unpacked my remote control. For those on PEI, I am rocking channel 8 and 13. Surprisingly, I love it. I'm watching much less TV, and yet I still get The National and Compass. I find that I'm watching more stuff online now (which I used to hate).
  
• It has been 3 months on PEI. I have some big ideas about contributing to the community, but I've been slack on all of them. I have another trip (personal) coming up in October, but after that I hope to really get started on some ideas.

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Terry Fox

This morning was the Terry Fox Run across the Confederation Bridge.

It was a gorgeous day and a fun run. On the NB side of the Bridge, there were several thousand people. It was one of the biggest events I've been in, larger than anything in Saint Louis, except possibly the marathon. Here is a pic in the Globe and Mail.

I'm pretty wiped now. I was up at 4:30 am and stood around for 2.5 hours after the school-bus ride to NB.

Consequently, it is hard to describe the atmosphere. Suffice it to say that people were in a good spirit, and there were all kinds of participants: wheelchairs, baby strollers, etc.

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Running the Bridge

I'm running the Confederation Bridge on Sunday, as part of the Terry Fox run. It will be 9 miles = 13 km, and highly symbolic of my return home, as I'll be starting on the NB side and running back to the Island.

Here is my page if you would like to donate towards cancer research. My thanks to my parents for helping out with the first donation.

For those who may not know Terry Fox's story, check out the Wikipedia article. He is a modern-day hero among Canadians.

Today

There are a lot of memories being shared on Twitter. I feel as though I have nothing left to say. But this is not to imply a callousness, or that I have forgotten that day.

Here is a link to my 2006 post about a moving quote, one which defines the era, in my opinion.

Binky commented on that post, 4 years ago. A lot has changed since then, and a lot has stayed the same.

Billy Bishop

Late yesterday afternoon, Vic and Colleen invited me along to see a one-man play, Billy Bishop Goes To War, up in North Rustico at the Montgomery Theatre. They were surprised at my ready acceptance (I have to be in a rare frame of mind to do things at the last minute, in part due to the burden of being an aspiring athlete and musician).

When we showed up at the place, things looked bleak. The theater is a renovated barn, and no one was there but us and 5 crew members. Yikes.

However, the place filled up over time and it was a delightful evening.

As background, note that Billy Bishop was the leading ace of World War I for Canada, and arguably for the British empire.

The play is his reminiscences from a retirement home in Florida in the 1950s. It was great! The show was a contrast: the stage had little more than a chair, relying on the actor to create a world in our imaginations; yet, on the backing wall, various film footage was occasionally shown.

Despite our shaky start, it was a terrific outing.... A big thumbs-up.

September

It seems that September has always been my new year. As I've probably blogged before, I remember the nervous excitement of the first day of school, replete with new sneakers, clothes, and supplies.

I even like the word: September. It is 2nd only to my birth month as an aesthetically pleasing collection of letters and sounds.

So, it is fitting that September is the first month where I'm really 'at home' here on PEI. I'm in my own place and not surrounded by boxes. I'm starting to find my rhythm again. e.g. I ran 10 km on Saturday and then went to a 5 km event this morning.

Even more interesting is that if I were still in Saint Louis, I would be making a trip to Detroit this week, for visa reasons. So long, Detroit! I'm grateful for the chance to work in the USA, but I won't miss that stress and hassle.

Happy New Year, everyone.....

a link through history

Two unique articles came across the transom in the last few days. I thought there was an interesting "link" between them.

Quote 1

This little town (Charlottetown) is cut off from the world in an aggravating way.

The coast of Nova Scotia is in plain view along most of the southern coast of Prince Edward Island, but the transfer by boat from Pictou takes three hours...

from this article, in 1896

Quote 2

During MacLachlin's decade as CEO [sic], UPEI has also seen its international enrolment quadruple to 500 students, about 12 per cent of its registration.

Would those world-class researchers, and all those foreign students, be on the island without the Confederation Bridge? These are not people who wait for the ferry.

from this article in the Montreal Gazette