January 28, 2008
Thank You Whitehorse
The SRB would like to extend our thanks to BYTE (Bringing Youth Towards Equality) and the fine folks of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, for the privilege of joining them at the annual youth conference last weekend. It was our first trip to the Great White North and what an adventure it turned out to be. We began with a dangerously-close-to-last-call attempt at finding refreshment after 8 hours of flying-time from Montreal. May I just insert here that Canada is truly an enormous place. I mean we all know it, theoretically: you can see it on a map, you have spent 12 days driving across it in a station wagon with your prior-to cohesive family unit, you envy Russia that coveted 1 spot and, therefore, take great pleasure in beating them at Hockey and/or two-man Luge on the world stage. But to fly for 8 hours over ONE country is hard to fathom. How did we secure such a big chunk of the pie? Better yet, how do we manage to hold on to it? But I digress...
Indulged/rescued by a sympathetic bartender, we retired to our respective rooms to unpack our long-johns and ready ourselves for the weekend ahead. That night I dreamt that a rogue pan-handler was encroaching on my lucrative claim, taking all the biggest, shiniest nuggets for himself and spitting foul tabacky in my eye when I tried to take them back. When I finally got a good look at him, he turned out to be Josh Trager. Before I could figure out what this meant, he grew wings and flew off into the sunset with a herd of sky-elephants, taking my gold with him. I awoke in the dark... it was 10:30 a.m. and apparently the sun was taking the day off. I met the fellas at the restaurant, they ordered the Elk Benedict (no word of a lie) and I ordered the Hungry Yukoner, a mass of food so large that its gravitational-pull warped time and space around it. Half-way through, I was broken, but our waitress was having none of it and, like an Italian grandmother at her dinner table, refused to show mercy. "Please," I said, "I think something is happening to me..." She did not relent.
Our expert guide Jonathan took us on a brief tour of the town, during which we managed to set off the alarm of the S.S. Klondike - an old riverboat and a national landmark. Fleeing both CSIS and the Parks Board, we made our way to the Youth Conference. Over the next few hours we had the chance to meet some of these young people of the North. They were students, artists, musicians, street-performers and one young man originally from Sierra Leone, who could do back flips on demand. They had come from all over the Yukon to be a part of shaping its future. "Where are you from?" "Mayo, heart of the Yukon," "Carmacks," "Ross River," "Dawson City." Some places we had only read about, others, we had never heard of at all. They attended workshops on anything from Sex-Ed to Environmental Awareness, Native Folklore and Herbology (thanks Mary for the lessons learned) to Dj-ing, just to name a few. Their concerns and hopes resemble those of people everywhere - how do you learn to make sense of life in all of its many forms? how do you live for what you love? It was the first time we'd hung out with so many young people since our own high-school days. On the surface, things are a bit different now than we were back then: the dress, the lingo, cellphones and digital cameras (combined and separate). But all of that is only skin deep. There was none of the stereotypical teenage-apathy here - they were engaged, open-minded and looking for ways to make their lives fuller and the future better. This was all organized and executed by the passionate and capable people of BYTE, who have recognized the importance of these young lives and minds and are devoted to helping them thrive. Hats off!!!
We played a show that night at the convention centre with guests Nicole Edwards (thanks for the Haines growler) and Pladd (a local group who won the previous night's Battle Of the Bands). It was a great night of music and a perfect way celebrate the success of the conference. Over the 24 hours which followed we would witness the biggest bonfire of our lives, the clearest sky we had ever seen, take our first ride in a helicopter, enjoy Yukon-style hospitality, caribou skewers and moose burgers included, at a beautiful cabin in the woods (thanks Dan and Family), break a ski-doo (Mr. James Hall, ladies and gentlemen) and read Robert Service's "The Cremation Of Sam McGee" on a frozen lake. Many firsts and not bad for a first time visit, indeed. We hope there will be many more to come...
Indulged/rescued by a sympathetic bartender, we retired to our respective rooms to unpack our long-johns and ready ourselves for the weekend ahead. That night I dreamt that a rogue pan-handler was encroaching on my lucrative claim, taking all the biggest, shiniest nuggets for himself and spitting foul tabacky in my eye when I tried to take them back. When I finally got a good look at him, he turned out to be Josh Trager. Before I could figure out what this meant, he grew wings and flew off into the sunset with a herd of sky-elephants, taking my gold with him. I awoke in the dark... it was 10:30 a.m. and apparently the sun was taking the day off. I met the fellas at the restaurant, they ordered the Elk Benedict (no word of a lie) and I ordered the Hungry Yukoner, a mass of food so large that its gravitational-pull warped time and space around it. Half-way through, I was broken, but our waitress was having none of it and, like an Italian grandmother at her dinner table, refused to show mercy. "Please," I said, "I think something is happening to me..." She did not relent.
Our expert guide Jonathan took us on a brief tour of the town, during which we managed to set off the alarm of the S.S. Klondike - an old riverboat and a national landmark. Fleeing both CSIS and the Parks Board, we made our way to the Youth Conference. Over the next few hours we had the chance to meet some of these young people of the North. They were students, artists, musicians, street-performers and one young man originally from Sierra Leone, who could do back flips on demand. They had come from all over the Yukon to be a part of shaping its future. "Where are you from?" "Mayo, heart of the Yukon," "Carmacks," "Ross River," "Dawson City." Some places we had only read about, others, we had never heard of at all. They attended workshops on anything from Sex-Ed to Environmental Awareness, Native Folklore and Herbology (thanks Mary for the lessons learned) to Dj-ing, just to name a few. Their concerns and hopes resemble those of people everywhere - how do you learn to make sense of life in all of its many forms? how do you live for what you love? It was the first time we'd hung out with so many young people since our own high-school days. On the surface, things are a bit different now than we were back then: the dress, the lingo, cellphones and digital cameras (combined and separate). But all of that is only skin deep. There was none of the stereotypical teenage-apathy here - they were engaged, open-minded and looking for ways to make their lives fuller and the future better. This was all organized and executed by the passionate and capable people of BYTE, who have recognized the importance of these young lives and minds and are devoted to helping them thrive. Hats off!!!
We played a show that night at the convention centre with guests Nicole Edwards (thanks for the Haines growler) and Pladd (a local group who won the previous night's Battle Of the Bands). It was a great night of music and a perfect way celebrate the success of the conference. Over the 24 hours which followed we would witness the biggest bonfire of our lives, the clearest sky we had ever seen, take our first ride in a helicopter, enjoy Yukon-style hospitality, caribou skewers and moose burgers included, at a beautiful cabin in the woods (thanks Dan and Family), break a ski-doo (Mr. James Hall, ladies and gentlemen) and read Robert Service's "The Cremation Of Sam McGee" on a frozen lake. Many firsts and not bad for a first time visit, indeed. We hope there will be many more to come...