THANK YOU TO THE YUKON AND ITS WONDERFUL PEOPLE

 POST # 429

 

In sub-zero temperature, the Air North flight unglued itself from the airport runway, to begin its journey southward to Vancouver.

And just like that,  I once again became physically disconnected from the Yukon Territory, a place that just over twenty years ago I would have never thought about visiting, but which now is such a memorable part of my continuing adventure through this journey called life.

This is my fourth departure from the territory, and just like the three previous times I do wonder if it will be my last?  Mind you, I seem to have formed the habit of returning to places that I expect never to return to, so the Yukon is still on my future list.

The majority of my time up North was spent out in the woods at my friend's farm, however I did have the opportunity to spend a few days in Dawson and the surrounding area.  Having not been here for almost five years, I was amazed at just how many people I bumped into that I still know, and who still remember me.  Working all of those years as a cashier at the Dawson City General Store was probably the best place to meet locals. It most certainly a better place to cultivate a friendship, than being the local dog catcher.  At least on that job, I made many new four-legged friends.

I decided to compile a list of names of people I ran into, so in no particular order here they are:

John, Mark, June, Kyler, Sopac, Bob, Louie, Troy, David, Leslie, Rose, Chris, Rian, Paula, Eldo, Karen, Amy, Nick, Jonathan, Lesley, Jude, Akio, Suzanne, Anna, Brent, Carol, Brenda, Joyce, Jannis, Terry, Myrna, Paula, Jennifer(born same day and year as me), Bridget, Dan, Laurie, Kim, Tina, Janice, Shelley, Riley, Chris, Catherine, Caveman Bill, Bill, and another Bill,  Laurie(2), Janet(who adopted Snowball), Maria, Marg, Lambert, Steve, Judith, Martin, Joanne, Micken, and no doubt some others that I forgot to write down at the time.

I'd like to take a moment to thank all of them for spending a few brief moments in order to exchange  some stories.  This meant a great deal to me. In addition to the names listed above, there are some others who deserve extra special thanks. I'm quite sure that they know who they are, but if not, special thanks goes to John, Kim, Eldo, Karen, Jannice, Terry, Rose, and Gary. 

Lastly I want to thank the Mather family, for giving me the opportunity to work for them starting way back in September 2000.  They took a chance on hiring a total stranger, and because of that, they provided more to me than they will ever know.

 

KYLER, SOPAC, JUNE and MARK

After a rather bumpy approach to Vancouver, we landed on the morning of November 3rd, 2020.  Like some other dates, this one sticks in my head.  It is the birthday of my high school friend, Mark. He was the friend who happened to be watching a Qantas airways commercial with me, back in 1975, which became the genesis of the idea to visit Australia, two years later.  Apparently, November 3rd of this year had some significance south of the border.  Perhaps the USA was also celebrating my friend Mark's birthday.  Whatever happened four days ago in the US, was so far down my list of important things to think about, that it barely even registered, and by writing this last sentence, I've already given it way too much attention. 

Thank you to all of the people in the Yukon, that helped to make my six week visit another treasured memory.  The Dawson community is without any doubt, one of the most unique and friendly places, here on planet Earth.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer