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Tagged: Big Beaver
A 1981 Yamaha MX175: An Eight Year Old’s Dream
A 1981 Yamaha MX175: An Eight Year Old’s Dream I can not remember what we had been doing on that evening, or what friends I had been with, but I was happy to leave them to follow him. I was eight years old and I was busy learning how to become a cowboy on the horse that my parents had just bought for me. But he said that he had a motorbike that, “Would probably be just about right for...
The Power of an Old Crush
The Power of an Old Crush. I had not seen her in about 10 years. I used to have a massive crush on her 19 years ago when I was growing up. I have been away for nearly a decade and recently returned for a spell. We became friends on Facebook. Then, two days ago I received this message from her: ‘Umm…Just FYI, Your Facebook pages tell me that you might be the coolest. person. ever. 🙂 Just want I...
Making Music in a Senior Citizen’s Center
My father was hanging out with me in the basement, and then he began getting his band equipment together to haul upstairs to load into the car. He told me that he had a gig to play at the senior citizens’ home in Coronach, the next town over. My father is a very youthful 78-years-of-age. I asked him if he needed a roadie for making music. He was happy to have another set of hands to carry equipment, so I decided that I would join him for his performance. Once we got everything into the car, we had a quick sandwich in the house. As we were about to run out the door one of my brothers called. I knew we were short on time but my dad was too polite to say so and he talked to my brother as I watched the anxiousness build up in him as time was ticking by. Eventually, dad got off the phone and we jumped in the car to race the ordinary 15 minute drive from the ranch to town.
A Struggling Edmonton Oiler Fanatic Junkie
My name is Stephen Harris, and I am an Edmonton Oiler fanatic. I feel like making that statement is similar to a line made by someone attending alcoholics anonymous. I really am addicted to a terrible hockey team, and it is difficult. This is how it came to be… I was born in 1979 and when I was a little boy of the age of five or six, I knew of the Edmonton Oilers. I remember being at a house...
A Night With Our Heroes – Edmonton Oilers 1984 Stanley Cup Reunion
A Night With Our Heroes Edmonton Oilers 1984 Stanley Cup Reunion Sometimes the stars align just right. My childhood hero hockey team decided to have a 30 year anniversary of their 1984 Stanley Cup Championship when I was in the area, and beyond that, my best friend and I who grew up bonding over the team were able to attend the reunion together. As I said to him, “If I was in Auckland, New Zealand right now, and I knew...
The Postcard Barrel
The Postcard Barrel 18 September An amazingly cool thing happened today. Well, it all goes back a couple of months. Today ties to a day in late June when I was on Isla Floreana in the Galapagos. I wrote this from that time…. “The post office ‘barrel’ has existed since the 1800’s and it is where ships used to leave mail they wanted delivered. If you stopped at the beach where Bahia Post Office was located on your way...
Waskatenau – Finding a Job But Wanting a Statue
Waskatenau – Finding a Job But Wanting a Statue. September 17. I awoke this morning to a man calling me to give me job. That is bittersweet. I need to job as I need to make money and have enough to get out of the Canadian Freezer before the cold swallows up my will to go on, but jobs just do not really suit me…. They say that a man should never do what he is good at for free,...
Waskatenau – A Fantastically Strange Message and My Mental Difficency
September 16. A Fantastically Strange Message. I received a message in my Big Beaver Diaries inbox today that threw me for a mental loop. My mother is one of 8 brothers and sisters from a mix-matched family of parents who divorced in the ultra conservative 1950’s. I often wonder how society viewed divorcees at that time… My grandparents were undoubtedly seen as despicable sinners by that society. Both of those grandparents remarried and had more children. That made it so...
Sylvan Lake: Domesticity, Child Caring and Bearing
Sylvan Lake: Domesticity, Child Caring and Bearing. September 14. I got this message from my friend Jan today. This entertained me very much; “Anyway I thought you might get a kick out of this… on my Mac my favourites board contains 12 websites. I don’t know if you are familiar with the favourites board but as soon as I click on the internet my homepage consists of my 12 favourite pages in smaller view. But you can still see what’s...
Big Beaver to Regina: Labour Day Party
Big Beaver to Regina: Labour Day Party. August 31. 5:20am is too early for any human to have to be awake. But I had to tie up a few loose ends with packing before dad drove me to meet Travis and Kellen at the Harptree grid just south of Bengough. I said goodbye to pa and then Travis and I had an awesome visit all the way to Regina. It is very nice to be around him. In Bengough at...
Big Beaver: Clown Costume Aftermath
Big Beaver: Clown Costume Aftermath. August 30. Showing up for a party at night in clothing fit for a clown is fun. Waking up the next day hung over and realizing that you will have to put the clown costume clothes on again to get home is a lousy feeling. It is awful to feel terrible and have to battle though the day in such apparel. It limits what you are willing to do. There was no way I...
Coronach: Old Boys Club
Coronach: Old Boys Club. August 29. It was quite a day as a farmer. I walked over the hills through the pasture with a .22 rifle in search of gophers to hunt, but there are none around. I walked for a mile and a half through the pasture to the field where my brother and my father are working and I never shot a bullet. I collected a cow-skull though, so the walk was not futile. My brother Matt...
Big Beaver: Harvest Time
Big Beaver: Harvest Time. August 28. It is harvest time and I am a farmer again. Not a great one, but a farmer once again…for a couple of days. Chad made breakfast this morning and I headed back to the farm for harvest time in Big Beaver. The main combine broke down last night but my very handy brother had everything fixed today and we finally got out into the field by 4pm. We are combining peas. Dad is running...
Bengough: Motocross Awesome-Sauce
Bengough: Motocross Awesome-Sauce. August 27. Becoming a farm-kid again is a transition that seems natural, but in a way it is a slow process. I am out of practice and out of farm-kid shape. I have the calluses of a writer. In the evening I went to see my friend Chad in Bengough. I got to his house and he had two motocross bikes in his garage. I couldn’t resist. I spent about 15 years on bikes like those, but...
Big Beaver – Something in the Air
Big Beaver – Something in the Air. Aug 26. Something crazy is going on… My friend Fiona is from Scotland and I met her in New Orleans, Louisiana. She ended up in Regina, Saskatchewan, because when we were partying in New Orleans in June of last year, I invited her and her friend to our family centennial farm party in Big Beaver, Saskatchewan. Unbelievably, her and her friend came. At our farm centennial, Fiona met my friend Beaner, lust overtook...
Big Beaver: Money, Whores and a Fake Passport
Big Beaver: Money, Whores and a Fake Passport. August 25. I wrote an email to my friend Rhett a couple of days ago asking him to send me his phone number. He sent it to me and when I looked at it the last four digits ‘9969’ looked unfamiliar to me. I have had his phone number a couple of times before and I had nearly remembered what it looked like. Somehow 9969 confused me. I sent him a text...
Big Beaver: Rain Rain Rain and My Entertaining Father
Big Beaver: Rain Rain Rain and My Entertaining Father. August 24. The rain will not let up. There has been three inches of consistent dreary rain… Mike woke me up, brought me a glass of water, fed me pancakes and Pizza Pops and then drove me home through the slop. It was great to spend time with him. I got home and visited with dad and Pat. I like to be around them. I like to tease Pat with...
Coronach: Universal Thoughts with Mike
Coronach: Universal Thoughts with Mike. August 23. It is raining like crazy here. There is far too much rain. The earth here is saturated. It has been two days of rain, at a lousy time. Had the sun been shining my family would be in the fields harvesting. I wish that was happening as I would like to be a part of that while I am home. I spend the day with dad and then Michael came to pick...
Big Beaver: The Guy I Was When I Left
Big Beaver: The Guy I Was When I Left. August 22. Today I got up to work on a few things and when dad got home from coffee in town we went to work on his truck. We got under the hood and changed the water-pump on the engine of the truck. I was once again be the guy I was when I left Canada. It took us three hours. It has been many years since I did any...
Big Beaver: Slipping into my Old Self
Big Beaver: Slipping into my Old Self. August 21. I got up this morning to a stack of mail on my dresser old. I am probably the only person may age in Canada with his high school bedroom basically untouched. I went through my mail and thanked people for Christmas cards that I just received now. My plan was to only be home for a few days but I will likely be home for a couple of weeks. There are...
Regina to Big Beaver: Home, Home on the Range
Regina to Big Beaver: Home, Home on the Range. August 20. When I woke up this morning I had no idea where I was initially. Then I realized I was in Bean’s bed. I heard Steve moving around. I remembered Kelly saying last night that she was going to cook us waffles in the morning. Steve sent her a message and we went over for an awesome breakfast. It is really nice to be home. I had no idea how...
New York City to Regina: Aguardiente in Canadiana
New York City to Regina – Aguardiente in Canadiana. August 19. A little over an hour of sleep is not enough. I require more. I got out of bed, grabbed my backpack, said goodbye to Julia and her cat and headed for the airport. I would have liked to have spent a lot more time in that bed. Julia is pretty, has an amazing body, is a great person to spend time with and has a laugh that will recharge...
Popayán to Cartagena: Beating an Airline
Popayán to Cartagena: Beating an Airline. July 29. This morning as Lucia went to have a shower before work, I was awakened by a couple moving into the dorm at about 8am. The pretty girl was apologetic in English rather than Spanish. A conversation between us took place. She was from Minnesota and asked me if I was an American. I told her I was from Big Beaver, Saskatchewan. She made a funny face and said, “I think I have...
Isla Santa Cruz to Isla Floreana – Fantasyland?
Isla Santa Cruz to Isla Floreana – Fantasyland? June 21. My nickname, Beaver, is ‘Castor’ in Spanish, French and Portuguese. It is the only name I use here in South America. I never use a last name and treat my first name like I am Elvis or Madonna. In South America you have to write your name often on tickets, and with no surname usually the man calling names from a group list smirks when he calls out only ‘Castor.’ ...
