Jo died in 2012 from acute Alzheimer’s.
Lost touch with Midge. I found out she had committed suicide sometime in the 2000’s.
I moved to Hornby in 1972. After two stints at the Peace River Dam, University, Buying a house, working in Focus prints (professional photographic prints) , became manager, had a baby (Fraser). Woof!!
My work at Focus can be found at the top of the blog under ‘Potpourrie’
Caught the plane. Had just enough money to get to Montreal where we had planned on hiring a car and driving home. Found a dealer who shipped cars to Vancouver. The deal was the only thing we paid for was the gasoline. (and any repairs that were needed along the way)
The car was a Chevy Supersport (Very powerful which was its only redeeming feature).
We thought we had enough money to get to Vancouver. The car thought something else. The first time we stopped for lunch it wouldn’t start. We managed to get a jump from another patron. Took the car into a repair garage and were told that the generator needed replacing and would cost much dollars. Nope!
We decided to drive all the way to the west coast without turning the engine off. One of us would sleep in the back seat while the other drove. Seemed to work except the gas this monster used. We had to keep the engine running while gassing up. Had to explain the problem every time. [Gas jockeys don’t like running cars next to their pumps.] Ran out of money somewhere near Winnipeg. Jo phoned her ex boyfriend and asked for money. What a good guy-sent the money right away.
I remember driving the prairies at night, Jo asleep in the back. I was beginning to hallucinate. [Sleeping in a moving car was impossible for me} The road was straight and narrow. uncomplicated except I began to imagine trees leaning over me like I was driving through the woods. It wasn’t so and it didn’t slow me down. Could this car ever go! Somewhere along the way another car decided to follow me so closely I realized that he was ‘drafting’ me. Staying so close that my car would pull him along. We used to do this with big transport trucks-very dangerous.
I didn’t mind. It was company! His headlights bothered me so I turned the rear view mirror so he could see what I could see. He turned his lights off! After a hundred miles or so he pulled of into a small town. Honked his horn, goodbye.
The first and only speeding ticket I got entering a small town in BC (Can’t remember the town). I was still speeding and had to tell the cop who stopped me that I couldn’t turn off the car motor. He grimaced, then wrote out the ticket.
Fraser Canyon
Clear sailing all the way to the city. Two and a half days from Montreal to Vancouver! Beat that!
Hit Vancouver Sept. 1965
The inevitable happened in Vancouver. Everybody wanted to celebrate our marriage!
Jo’s sister Anne, Ike Shulman, Heidi (Ron’s first wife), don’t know who the kid was.
Presents?
Chinese lamp-lasted for quite a while then fell apart.
That was it. Time to get normal…
If you want to see this story ‘Europe’ from the beginning or my previous story ‘Japan’ go to potpourri above and click on the subject.
So..I quit university, packed my things,(including and enlarger and everything necessary to print pictures)headed to downtown Vancouver and caught a bus to Montreal. I have no personal record of the date but did see a huge meteor streak across the northern sky the first night on the bus.
This from a newspaper report at the time.
“I looked up from my bedroom window and saw it so I ran out to the kitchen, and there was just this ‘boom,boom,boom,boom’ across the sky. It seemed to go on forever, which was probably only a matter of seconds. Freaks you out when you’re a little kid.”
march 31/1965
I have never been able to go to sleep easily so it wasn’t until my second night on the bus that I finally dozed off. “You sure can snore” said my seatmate the next morning.
When I got to Montreal my plan was to search for a freighter going to England and sign on but I was too impatient and immediately booked a flight to London.
There were two comfortable seats on either side. Lots of legroom . Economy class! Luxury compared to today’s planes. Also I smoked at the time (Cigarillos) so I contentedly puffed with no complaints from anyone. In fact most of the people on the plane smoked.
However, it was a long flight I think over 7 hours.
I landed and took a cab to Jo’s address. Big surprise in store!
I’m not sure about other programs but on Windows you can click on the picture and ‘open in new tab’. The print will show original size.
In 1965 I ended up in Europe and married! This is a fascinating memory for me. The chances that it happened are astounding. My girlfriend ,Jo, had decided to go to England along with my ex-girlfriend, Midge. My fault. I introduced them and they got along well enough to make travel plans.
So…they left and I was about to figure out my own travel plans. My friend Ron’s aunt and uncle were moving to Hawaii and they invited me along. Told me jobs were plentiful.
Ron’s aunt and his mother. Hawaii party. 1964
Geoff had a pool table in the basement, Ron and I would go round once a week and play billiards or pool or snooker.
Great party. I took my friend, Dorothy.
Lots of good old friends. There’s Jim Blair, Brian and Ron Jones on the far right.
I applied for immigration to the states. Went downtown and got my fingerprints taken. They checked to see if I was a criminal. Found out I wasn’t and invited me into the consulate for an interview. They approved my admission and all I had to do was wait.
This was the big turning point in my life. If I’d gone to Hawaii, became an American where and what would I be doing today?
Couldn’t wait. I decided to follow my girlfriend to Europe. I had been working at the foundry and had enough money to make the trip.(or so I thought). So, I bought a bus ticket to Montreal. I was going to find a ship in Montreal that would sail me to England. Lots of excitement to come…
Ron’s aunt and uncle had moved to Australia with their two sons and in 2005 Ron and I attempted a visit. Ron’s uncle, Geoff, had acknowledged his homosexuality and his aunt was in a home with a good part of her brain missing. We managed to visit one of the boys who wanted to have nothing to do with us.
I’m not sure about other programs but on Windows you can click on the picture and ‘open in new tab’. The print will show original size.