Ok…so there Max and I are in the middle of nowhere.  Every time I get into the van these days, I feel like I’m getting more ‘remote’ and now, on an island, the feeling is stretched even thinner…the line in the distance is DEFINATELY a dot on the horizon!  My perceptions are changing.  (by the way, it is pitch black outside…ocean wave sounds, but nothing much else)  On with the narrative…

So, there I am in Baie Egmont, my next ‘Visiting the Ancestors’ stop…but this is a short aside.  I found the church (St. Philippe & St. Jacques), but couldn’t locate the cemetery.  There was a wedding going on and it seemed to me a mystery how the entire yard to the church was filled with vehicles, when I had a difficult time even finding 30 dwelling places along my entire trek.

To bide my time I decided to explore some books for sale, perched on a table by the roadside, in four cardboard boxes.  (Just what I need…more old books!)  Once discovering nothing of great interest, I approached the front porch of this amazing home situated on a sharp curve in the road, noticing that a woman was sitting there, likely hoping that I was going to make a purchase.

I had decided to ask her where the cemetery was, in the hopes that by the time all was said and done, I might be able to get a peek at the interior of the church.  An AMAZING conversation ensued, with me sitting on her front step and then, us going to retrieve Max and going for a walk together.  It was more than an hour into the chat about the state of the fine arts in Canada (she was a retired theater teacher and writer), the difficult life, moving onto the Island, finding work…stories about the local fisherman…the fact that she didn’t have money for groceries and that they had to move out of their home for the winter last year because of fuel costs…on and on our conversation went.  It was magic!  She and I felt an immediate connection.

At some point the conversation turned to geographical locations…I think it was the ‘Where did you teach?’ question. 

Grande Prairie?  Really?  Did you know Ed Bader?

Of course I knew Ed Bader!  We were absolutely connected! 

I went to the University of Lethbridge with Ed!  I love Ed!  He taught me a course at ACAD!  He gave me permission to  paint flowers!

Well…you get the idea!  This is NOT an event that we would refer to as serendipity!  No way!

By the end of our visit, I didn’t want to leave…and the wedding was over…and the lady selling books had pointed out the cemetery that overlooked the ocean.

When I did pull out of the driveway,  I was carrying five Bibles from the early 1950s…collage bits for my next work.