Day 206-208 – 94.7 km (total – 4933.7 km)
After a storm east of Dryden
It’s pretty common for songs or parts of songs to infiltrate our minds and without realizing it, we’re humming some tune – good or bad! A few months ago, I tried listening to music while running, but in 17 years of running, I have always just enjoyed the sounds around me. In the last couple of months, I have resumed that absence of earphones. Having said this, tunes get in my head while I’m running and they’re hard to shake. I likely shouldn’t admit this, but topping the list these days are songs from Pink and Eminem! What can I say… they’re catchy tunes! A couple of weeks ago I made a video about my time along the North Shore and I used a song by Ian Tamblyn called Woodsmoke and Oranges. In the chorus, there is a line that says “…there’s something ‘bout this country… it’s a part of me and you”. I have been humming this one line out on the TCH for the last couple of weeks and have started wondering what that “something” might be that makes Canada a part of who we are.
A storm brewing in Upsala
I have read bits of John Ralston Saul’s book A Fair Country, in which he makes his argument that at the core of who we are as Canadians, we are a Metis people. Fairness and inclusion are the core values that define us and these values stem from First Nation people, not from European settlers. As for the land we live on, “the indigenous idea of nature is a philosophy in which humans are a part of nature, not a species chosen to master it”. For me, when I think about that “something”, it’s being a part of this magnificent land that we call Canada that connects me to this country. The rugged East Coast, the north shore of Superior, the Prairies, the Rocky Mountains, the sheer vastness of the North – we Canadians have so much nature to be a part of. One of my profs in some schooling I have recently taken, talks about “space vs place”. We tend to talk about a property we own or a place that is ours. Again, an aboriginal approach might be more that this land is a space, but a space that we have been given the responsibility to care for – to be stewards of. We are so fortunate to have this amazing backyard – but it is a backyard that we are a part of, not one we own.
The aftermath of a storm at the 102 junction
Today is a day off in Dryden. Dad and I are attempting to stay out of the hot sun while catching up on some emails, sleep and the Blue Jays. Tomorrow I’ll resume running and hope to get to Winnipeg in about 7 days, where I’m anxious to see the rest of my family for a couple of days!
