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Ms. Canoe Head Ms. Canoe HeadIt's funny how we identify ourselves and how this differs from how other people identify us. Have you ever overheard someone describing you? It can be a real eye-opener. I once heard myself described as the short, cute one with the big blue eyes. Well. I'm almost 5'5", which is pretty close to average height for a girl. I don't know if I'm cute, maybe they meant my personality? And my eyes are normally green and not particularly big. But that is how that particular person perceived me. I had quite a bit of difficulty in finding a name to identify myself for this diary. I'm known as "the Volvo pimp" elsewhere, 'cheesegirl' and 'photoaddict' were both taken and I forgot to try 'bubble girl'. I love my Volvo, it's an integral part of my identity. I could eat cheese all day despite being lactose intolerant, and I would quite possibly kill for havarti (I can't even say it without lust in my voice). I even threatened to name my (as yet nonexistent) children Gouda and Edam. I have a photo addiction that is taking over my life and my living room. I have so many allergies, intolerances and chemical sensitivities that many people have told me I should live in a bubble, hence "bubblegirl". But I ended up choosing canoe girl. Most of my friends would identify another in our group as canoe girl. Africa is loud and intense about her love of paddling. She works summers as a canoe guide in Northern Saskatchewan. If she's feeling insecure she'll wear her PFD around the house. She once leapt out of a still moving car and slammed the door in the face of a good friend in order to stand by some canoes. Like I said, intense. My love of canoeing is a quieter thing. I've been lake canoeing with my family since I could walk. In fact, we have photos of me paddling a canoe when I was 2. From ages 12-16, I was fortunate enough to go on a river canoe trip every year at camp and I looked forward to it all year. Once you get too old for camp it's hard to find places to paddle. I started at the U of A and was disappointed to find that the U of A paddling club catered solely to kayaks. The U of A rowing team was only for rowing (shocking, I know). The U of A outdoors club ran roughly one canoe trip per year, one the same weekend as a major Wammick event. When I started at NAIT I looked into the NAIT canoe team. I wasn't sure what exactly it involved. Canoe racing? I've never heard of canoe racing! Sign me up! The team was tiny my first year. There were only 4 people on the team, the smallest in ACAC Canoe racing, and we had to each paddle 4 of the 5 races. The Camrose team had more than 50 paddlers, so many that they couldn't all race! I quickly learned the new strokes, calls and rules involved in racing and the season was over all too soon. To my surprise, at the end of the year awards banquet I received both the Silver Torch Award and a small scholarship for my involvement on the canoe team. The next year I was both excited and anxious. Would enough people be interested for the team to continue? Surprisingly there were 13 of us that year. Over the course of practices, snowball fights, competitions and throwing each other in the lake as well as two year-end parties the bunch of us became close friends. Several of us joined the cross-country ski team as well to stay in shape and stay together. In particular, I grew close to Terrier, Smarties and Dutchboy. Terrier was a cowboy trucker from up North who was studying Heavy Motor Mechanics. Smarties was a smiley brunette who was both in Massage Therapy at GMCC and the personal fitness trainer program at NAIT. Dutchboy could have been a carpenter but he was studying Civil Engineering. Sometimes I knew Terrier better than he knew himself and I'm very surprised that my boyfriend Sailor wasn't ever jealous of our closeness. We spent most of our time with Smarties and Dutchboy, going to movies, playing games, fixing Smarties' piece of junk car, going skiing. I always had tons of fun with them and ended up with great stories. Some of my happiest memories are of my time with them. Along with Gee and Tee, a tall thin fellow who tended to mess up the punch line for jokes and a tiny sensible blonde, we took a memorable canoe trip down the North Saskatchewan on Remembrance Day. Brrrr! And slowly, it came to an end. I refused to break up with Sailor to be with Terrier and he couldn't stay friends with me after that. Later, Terrier's new girlfriend was jealous and wouldn't let him talk to me. Smarties and Dutchboy hooked up and without Terrier, our group was off balance and soon we stopped getting together. We would still talk occasionally, running into each other at MEC or the occasional phone call. Now Terrier and Dutchboy are both gone. Terrier caught a terminal case of "nap at the wheel", and Dutchboy slid beneath the peaceful surface of a lake on an adventure vacation. Both lost their lives in the same year. I'm still hurting too much to call Smarties, but hopefully one day soon I'll feel safe enough to get in touch with her. I miss what the four of us had. I miss my canoe team buddies. 2003-09-18 || 3:21 p.m. |
