Big Somethings

“Do you believe in ghosts?” 

These things just start this way. I’d been barely paying attention or watching my largely inebriated and uninvited guest as he messily ate the steak and eggs that I served him. Yes, I know that seems incongruent, but wait, it gets better. 

It gets better once you understand that I’m a 48 year old guy whose hearing might just not be what it was once despite the recent perfect hearing test. I seem to have a fair bit of tinnitus which I did not realize until I came to be living somewhere quiet. And I mean quiet. like this On a midwinter night when the air is still it is so quiet you could hear, well, you can hear is you have tinnitus. So between second language issues, his inebriation and my tinnitus, me following my guest in any conversation was a difficult task. “You're a good guy to talk to” was something I understood and this pleased my ego somewhat so I probably allowed more latitude than I should have. “I miss my mother” on the eve of Mother’s day, that definitely caused me to allow more latitude still. How do you turn down a guy who is missing his mother? Hell I was missing mine, and my kids mother, and several other mothers I know and value.  “Got any pork chops?” He asked, as if that was a completely normal question to ask when you come crashing into someone’s house. Well, this is the North isn’t it. And things are not always what one would expect.

Between mouthfuls my slobbering guest recounted that at one time there was a school building close by where my house sits now and he believes many ghosts haunt the area. He mentioned the ghosts along with a warning to be careful of them. As if the idea of ghosts wasn’t interesting enough, and, just as I was sorting through where to start with all my questions on this subject, he said the most interesting thing. He said “big things in the lake too, ha, maybe the length of this room” (~20’).

Stories are a prevalent theme in this Blog, and in most cases Robert Munsch crops up.  I’ve explained Munsch before and I won’t do it again here except to say you must read his books to children, and I would suggest sooner rather than later.  Princess Elizabeth should be every little princess’s hero. And speaking of stories and hero’s let me tell you about the book Dene Heros (volume 1).  I have been incredibly excited about this book since I read about it on CBC North months back. Dene Hero’s is a group of stories written by school children about hero’s in their lives and communities or stories they have heard that resonated with them. The project encourages connection to culture, literacy and also through its launch and celebration certainly built community.   MaryAnn Neal of Royal Roads University edited and published the edition and I am pleased to call her my friend. I was bored and waiting for a delayed flight back in January when I overheard two women talking about Dené Heroes. I had read about the project as I have said and without invitation an being typically me butted into the conversation to mention the CBC article. 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nwt-sahtu-youth-help-write-book-on-dene-heroes-1.3915498


Well it turned out that one of the women was MaryAnn Neal. She was heading to Norman Wells or something and her flight was also delayed. We talked for about an hour about social change and activism and became fast friends.  It is a very small world, and it gets smaller North of 60.

I was surprised and delighted to connect with her recently again while I was in Yellowknife and she and her bright and interesting son Rob (Robbie? Bob the banker? – Hey Josh this guy should be your best friend!) were heading further North. Over dinner we talked about MaryAnn’s connection to the North which dated back some 40 years to her as a young and impressionable girl full of gumption made her way into the NWT to work for Bren Will Brown, a priest/entrepreneur/author, who’s book End of Earth People has become my travel and cultural guide to the Sahtú region where I live. MaryAnn proceeded to tell me a story of change and adventure in her early life a she came to know the Dené people and build impactful relationships in communities that at the time were often less than 50 people. I don’t want to tell all of her story because I am convinced she should be writing it herself but I will tell you there was a romantic interest with a youthful  Dené lad working as a guide,  a forced separation involving  a sudden plane trip back to home, humiliation over an incident of uncharacteristic drunkenness and years of wondering and longing for the North.  She’s promised me her diary to read and am honored she would entrust me with her story.

Both MaryAnn and Rob, Robbie, Bob stayed at my place when they stopped in Délįne and when I returned from Yellowknife I found a lovely gift of a Flag colouring book that Rob had published with a friend last year. Yeah. They are those kinda’ people. Ya’ know? The ones who actually DO stuff? I know we will be friends for a long time.  

So back to the "big thing" in the lake. So as my guest wiped his mouth with the back of his hand he chuckled. He said he and his father were trolling for fish and having little luck one day when suddenly his father pointed in the water and excited asked "what's that?". When he looked back at his father he saw something in the water just below the surface and moving quickly alongside the boat. He estimated the thing to be about 20' long but had no clue what this thing in the water could be. The two men throttled up on the kicker and attempted to get ahead of the thing and having done slowed again and began casting out off the bow to see if they could hook the thing. It swam past the boat on the port side and ignored the bait and dove deep into the lake leaving the two men scratching their heads. So is this a fish tale? Does it matter if it is?

Spirits are here among us in this place in undeniable ways. In March during the height of the Aurora's grandeur you can hear them in the air as the lights undulate. Elders tell children not to whistle while under the Aurora as the spirits will whisk them away from earth should they break this taboo. And true they do appear as though they respond to sound when you stand under them in meditation or prayer. 

In a place filled with this much magic can I believe in a fish tale. You bet I can.