We've got a hole....

... and we're going. Those were the welcome words that came over the PA system.

I should have known that when the Calm Air Saub 340 rose from the runway in Chesterfield Inlet exactly on time and into a sun filled sky that something would go wrong somewhere along the line. Northern weather is just too variable when you are flying long distances. I'm not talking about the short Montreal / Toronto length flights, but the ones that can take 4, 5 hours or more from start to finish. Today for example was supposed to be a simple 8-hour excursion that would take me to a schedule of meetings in Winnipeg the next day. Among the planned stops enroute was a routine landing in the world polar bear capital, Churchill, Manitoba to take on fuel and passengers. Well, my sunny take-off in Chester earlier had now turned into a wet blizzardy day. By the time we were in the terminal the snow had turned to freezing rain. This is something that aircraft and pilots dislike. I think it's called the "Even if we get off the ground we'll drop like a rock ten minutes from now" syndrome.

After an hour of uncertainty the airline agents started mumbling about sleeping arrangements, which started us worrying. At this time of year there is not a hotel room to be had in Churchill as tourists from all over the world are in town to see the bears. Those of us within earshot of the counter immediately began a scouting of the waiting room area, trying to decide which of the metal benches we would claim as our own for a long, hard night. Three of us started eying the same semi-dark corner, slowly edging in the general direction of that one location which seemed to promise a hope of not having a fluorescent bulb directly overhead. We all abandoned our bed hunting as they advised that a box-lunch supper and snacks were available at the counter. After all, I can sleep just about anywhere if my belly is full. If you don't believe me just ask my wife about circumnavigating our living room carpet with me in the middle of it following Sunday dinners in Iqaluit! About this time another visitor arrived at the airport, Manitoba Premier Gary Doer. He couldn’t take off in his chartered plane either but I’m sure he would be able to find a place to stay somewhere and not spend the night with us mortals on an airport bench.

Anyway, about this time we heard the announcement that started off this post and we got off the ground OK after de-icing and in between rain showers… but that’s not the end to the story. The next stop south from Churchill is Thompson for one of those security checks that I mentioned in a previous blog entry. Upon landing in Thompson, we were told that the freezing rain and slush in Churchill had caused a sensor to malfunction and they hadn’t been certain that our landing gear was locked. Nice to know after the fact but that's just a part of northern flying that we all take in stride. They simply taxied the aircraft into the hanger for an hour to let it thaw out and so they could chip away a little ice and off we went to Winnipeg, landing only about 3 hours late. Just another normal flying day up in the real world and it's great fun!

Things That Go Bump In The Night

So I’m heading home from the store about 1:00 a.m. the other morning after yet another of those many days when the freight plane arrived late. About half way to the house I look up and there’s this white shape on the hill behind the house, about 50 feet from my door. Not remembering having seen it there before I immediately thought, “There’s my bear!” Sure enough, it started to move slowly along the hill and I’m wondering if I should continue on to the house or head back to the store to wait it out. While I’m debating this in my mind I heard a car approaching and the funny thing was, the closer the car got the more the shape moved and brightened. It was only the headlights shining in a peculiar way on a rock and a combination of the special angle of the road, the shape of the rock, the rain, my tiredness and imagination was making me see something else.

Laugh if you want, I did, but at this time of the year here a bear can be around at any time of the day or night and boy are they hungry until the ice forms and they can go seal hunting again. I was reminded by someone the other day that the polar bear is mainly a scavenger and not to play dead if you surprise one. Of course you can’t outrun the things either so what the heck are you supposed to do?

What a View!

You may wonder why I've posted a photo of plywood on the blog... Well, there are about 40 crates of building materials destined for the local housing corporation piled in front of and around the side of my house here in Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut. This is because we are located right on the beach and the M.V. Anna Desgagnes was in yesterday with sealift for us and the community.So, why a plywood photo? Because that's all I can see out of my living room windows. On top of that the water and sewage trucks can't get to the inlet and outlet. (Everything is trucked both ways in the north because permafrost prohibits underground piping.) Plus.... it's all piled in front of my satelite dish and therefore no world series on TV tonight!

National Take Back My Time Day?

Well guess what people… I was awakened at 3:15 this morning by the sound of forklifts and trucks outside. Sealift is in. See you later, get the Watkins liniment ready!!!

Reflections

Well another twelve days to home. It’s been a long year for some reason and I’m just going through some of the highlights in my mind.

In 2006 I experienced –40 degrees at dawn on the shores of Little Grand Rapids, struggled through 60 mile an hour blizzard winds walking a half mile to the store in Sanikiluaq, watched the caribou migrating through Salluit, fought the black flies of Inukjuak and spent afternoons on bear watch in Chesterfield Inlet. There was also a great double sunset in Thompson, once from the ground followed by the sun rising in the west as the aircraft climbed to its cruising altitude and then setting a second time a few minutes later. A seldom seen experience except for airline pilots.

Somehow though none of the sights and scenes match being on the deck of the house in Wiky, watching the sunrise, listening to the birds coming alive, enjoying the first coffee of the morning and waiting for the rest of the house to surface from their nights dreams.

Wonder what tomorrow will bring…

Travel 2006

Just thought that maybe someone might be interested in my travels so far this year. It's been a little quieter in 2006 compared to last year. If I stay on schedule it will only be 233 days out compared to 253 in 2005 and 236 in 2004. Work this year was in Little Grand Rapids, Sanikiluaq, Inukjuak, Chesterfield Inlet, two trips to Salluit and several stops at the office in Winnipeg. I enjoy visiting different parts of the country but... what have I missed by not being home? I have to admit that this bothers me and the feeling will probably get worse as the years go by. :0(

"You Can't Take It Personal"

It always amazes me that some people seem to think they can get away with anything forever. Take the ones I had to deal with recently. I’ve got to give them credit, they had to do some serious thinking to figure out what they thought was a foolproof way to supplement their income. What they didn’t know was that there was a series of reports that can be run that would show someone who knew what to look for exactly what was happening. And I knew.

I’ve been with the Hudson’s Bay Company and now The North West Company for over 33 years holding positions from Gas Boy to Office Manager, Store Manager, Field Services Manager, POS Co-ordinator, Auditor, Trainer, Computer Trouble-shooter and a dozen others in between. Right now I call myself a “Pinch Hitter” as whatever needs doing they know they can call me up and I’m on the road the next day to help out wherever I can. What I’m saying is that over the years I’ve seen just about every trick in the book and a few that perhaps a newer person might miss. Heck, I’ve even thought up a few angles myself that we’ve added to the “Watch Out For This” manual.

To make a long story short it took me two days to pinpoint exactly what was being done this time and I spent the next several days building the paperwork and reviewing security tapes. Results… people with a world of potential, limited only by their own choices, now facing possible criminal charges.

Every time this sort of thing happens most people have a tendency to think one thing... “They were stealing from ME!” Well, yes but it probably wouldn’t matter who else was there. If they were going to “borrow” then they would most likely “borrow” from whomever held your position. They have actually only "borrowed" from their own possibilities and future and it’s themselves they have hurt the most. They’ve lost a little bit of their personality, their heart, their image and most of all they’ve added a little bit of blackness to their soul that will forever lessen who they are and could be. It is sad for all of us because maybe we could have done something to help that person before the situation went too far. You do what you can but sometimes there seems to be just too much out there and when it does happen just remember, you can’t take it personal.

Sik-Sik

This one was running around by my door at noon today. We've had a pretty good storm blowing for the past 3 or 4 days and he probably got hungry.

Spermophilus Parryii

In other words, the vicious arctic ground squirrel. Actually these things are quite tame and show little fear of man. I've seen them sitting on the steps of the store and house as well as trotting across the airport ramp while aircraft were warming up.

It’s basically an arctic version of the prairie dog and lives much the same way, in colonies, eating plants and making more of themselves. It gets the local name “Sik-Sik” from the sound that it makes when it gets nervous.

It's been snowing and blowing for a couple days here now so I expect that we've seen the last of them until spring when their hibernation will be over. You'll find a lot more information on the web site that I stole... oops, borrowed the photo from so please check out the NatureWorks web site and read up more on this arctic dweller.

Polar Bear Watch...

So the guy from the Nunavut Department of the Environment came to see me today. It seems there's been a polar bear around my house and the store at least twice in the last week and he just wanted to leave me his telephone number to call him day or night if I spot it. They want to invite my nocturnal visitor to politely move on “or else.”

We had a freight plane to unload at 11:00 p.m. the other night and I must admit that I was more than a little wary walking home from the store to the house in the dark. It’s not far but with just about zero visibility on a cloudy night you might step on each other before either of you sees the other. Anyway, the word is to always “be aware” of your surroundings, don’t go rushing around buildings and to take the corners wide. We also look out the window before opening the door to go out and yes, there is a rifle standing ready (with the clip out) between the bedroom and the door, just in case.

I haven’t seen the wee beastie yet though and believe it or not in the 33+ years I’ve spent in the north I still haven’t seen a polar bear in the wild. I was kind of disappointed not to spot one while in Churchill for a month last summer so I hope this is my chance. Will keep you posted…

Propellor Pattern

September 29th and enroute to Chesterfield Inlet on Calm Air Saub 340B aircraft. The propellor pattern that shows up in a digital camera always amazes me. Over the clouds for most of the 7 hour journey from Winnipeg although it was sunny on the ground in Arviat and Whale Cove. I enjoy the cedars and woods surrounding our home on Manitoulin but somehow the flat, barren land of this part of the arctic appeals to me as well. At least when there's not many hills you can see the polar bears coming from at a little way off.

I hope to have more about the bears later but for now, and especially at this time of the year, lets just say you have to be aware of your surroundings at all times and go around buildings slowly, If you run you don't know what you may hit, or have hit you back!

Headed West

Bearskin Airlines into the setting sun… Yup, headed west to Winnipeg for the night then an early morning Calm Air flight to Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut. That particular run will take me through Churchill, Arviat, Whale Cove and then Rankin Inlet before depositing me in the land of the sik-sik in the early afternoon. For anyone not familiar with a sik-sik it is the arctic version of the prairie dog and similar but smaller than our Ontario woodchucks. Check out the Scary Squirrel web site for photos and videos of these varmints. Oops, landing in Thunder Bay, got to hang up now. Talk at 'ya later!

A Manitoulin Autumn

Leaves falling, changing, evolving. The cycle of life... or limb?

September 23 Travel

It’s 6:00 a.m. and dawn in Montreal. Traffic, traffic, traffic. Ahh, but tonight I’ll be sitting on the deck of our Manitoulin Haven with a good cigar, a glass of Madeira and catching up on everything that’s happened while I was away this time. A haven indeed, and one I don’t fully appreciate until I’m away up north for a few weeks. It’s great to be home!

September 22 Travel

Left Salluit at 2:30 p.m. today. We took off late because of heavy snow. Most of the five of us on the Montreal bound Air Inuit flight didn't expect to get off the ground at all. Salluit is notorious for bad weather at any time of the year but spring and fall seem to be the worst as thick fog can roll in off Hudson's straight at any time. The flight took us to Puvirnituq where one passenger left us but we gained twelve new ones. Maybe I should mention that this aircraft was a Dash 8 which holds about 30 people, give or take a couple. We lost about 6 seats on this particular run as we also picked up a stretcher patient from the hospital in PUV.

Many patients still travel from the north to see specialists in Montreal hospitals. Not that very many years ago the hospital in Moose Factory used to receive many of the TB cases from settlements farther north. In those days it used to be an all day flight, sometimes more, as we rattled up and down the coast in Beavers, Otters, Cansos and even the occasional Norseman. Somehow it was more fun then and I miss it.

We make a half-hour stop in La Grande to pick up a couple more passengers and clear security before heading off to Montreal. As usual a few passengers are as confused as I was the first time I headed south after security tightened up a few years ago. There are no facilities in the far northern communities to x-ray luggage or passengers so when you near the south the aircraft will stop at a convenient airport. All the passengers get off, you claim your luggage and take it through a security checkpoint where it is examined and tagged as being cleared. You then go back to the airline and "check-in" your luggage again. Curiously enough we are trusted at this point while strolling across an "insecure" terminal not to slip contraband into the suitcase. I have actually stopped to chat with people on my way over to check in again and could easily take something nasty from them and put it into my "secure" suitcase. Anyway, after this you then go back through security yourself and get the standard carry-on and personal search. This seems to get more complicated every day and it's just one more reason that I take the train whenever I can. But I've digressed...

Today I'm leaving Salluit and in about 7 hours I'll be sipping a 12-year-old scotch at the Holiday Inn. Life sure is rough these days. What's your travel story?

Entertain Me!

What gives people these days the idea that the world is obligated to provide them with entertainment 24 hours a day? Not only provide it, but also tailor it to exactly the way they want it!

What do I mean? Try asking the average person these days to sit for more than a minute without music playing or having the TV on. First thing you know they start talking about how quiet and boring it is. And people don’t seem to start out that way at all. Watch any small child playing for great lengths of time with only a toy car or doll. They don’t need headphones and videos to be happy.

Why then when individuals reach a certain age do they suddenly require artificial sounds bombarding them constantly? Are they not capable of holding an inner dialogue or contemplation of events and plans? Hey, let’s exercise our thought process a little bit people. It’s going to deteriorate fast enough on it’s own through the aging process, don’t encourage it through lack of use as well.

(Looks like I'm getting more cynical and negative every day. I promise to work on that. Anyway, the above is just my own little “inner dialogue” for the day. Please feel free to comment either way. If you feel I’m wrong don’t be afraid to say so but… haven’t you noticed the shift to this “Entertain Me” society as well?)

Wiky Ruins Ghost?

This is the photo I mentioned in the "Wikwemikong Monster" message. BIG THANKS to Jaysin Scott Peltier for allowing me to post it.

Israel Reserved?

"I think Israel's response under the circumstances has been reserved..."

This is a quote from Steven Harper from an article located at http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=431efa1d-c4f2-4aac-ba52-472c023a7c83

He also said that "Israel has the right to defend itself" and I agree but two wrongs don't make a right, no matter now much 'GW' says it does.

I know it was provoked but are we now condoning the invasion of a country... and why it is any of our business anyway?

Last Call....

"Last call for Corsair flight 881 to Paris, Orly." This was the announcement over the PA system as I sat awaiting my own routine flight from Montreal to Toronto. I wondered about the people now rushing to make it to their seats before the doors closed, never to be reopened for any latecomers... Company policy you know.

Who would travel to Paris... business people, vacationers, those like myself who have always wanted to see the city of lights for real and not just on Google Earth? Musicians and pilgrims on their quest to visit the grave of Jim Morrison, honeymooners, romantics and escapees to a new life that they foolishly imagine will be better than what they now live... or a combination of all the above.

What about you… ever think of throwing it all to the wind and blowing your life savings on the trip you’ve imagined all your life? Where would it be to, what would your goals be, who would you share this adventure with?

Let’s keep replies anonymous. That way we can fanaticize and make our virtual plans with no inhibitions or concerns other than over indulgence. But then again, we all deserve a little chocolate now and then, don’t we?

Political Puzzle

Sorry, but I don't see why it's right for the USA to put a $5 million bounty on the head of Al Qaeda but at the same time consider it wrong for the opposing side to plan the assassination of George Bush.

I don't support either side of the argument but how can one be bad and one be good when they are both have identical goals of wiping out the leader of the oposition in this particular case?

Shouldn't both sides just stand back and mind their own business?