I was thirteen years old, and one arm was wrapped around Wayne’s waist while the other held a pair of fishing rods as we dodged cattle on his 100cc Yamaha motorcycle, headed for the upper falls of the Cheslatta River.
When I was five, my father moved us from the lovely Victoria, British Columbia to the mosquito haven of northern BC and my mother was not amused. The marriage ended a year later and we ended up in Calgary but my dad stayed in the Burns Lake area. It meant I traveled there every year for Christmas, spring break, and much of my summers.
In the 1980s there was no internet, no video games. Dad had moved to the “Southside” of Francois Lake, down past where the pavement turns to gravel road. The TV only got two channels and most of it was shit. So I read a lot of books, and caught a lot of fish.
I still see Wayne regularly when I go out to visit. Nine years ago I was out with my family, and we were fishing Francois Lake. The only luck we had was my daughter, who caught a four-pound char (shown in photo). It wasn’t going to be quite enough to feed all six of us for dinner, but Wayne had been out fishing with his wife and they caught a seven-pound char.
He traded fish with us. That’s just the kind of guy he is.
Wayne, who is two years older than me, was my summer friend. His sister Stephanie became good friends with my sister. Both Wayne and Stephanie still live on the Southside, but those fucking north siders …
Stephanie and her husband had recently begun running a food truck that operated near the north side of the ferry that takes people across Francois Lake. And then some fuckers trashed the shit out of it and stole a bunch merchandise and they are out several thousand dollars. They may not be able to get it up and running again without help.
I know I’m always asking people to buy my book, but this time I’m asking for you to throw a few bucks toward my childhood friend Stephanie to help the “Grumpy Gals Food Truck” live again. Here is the Go Fund Me link to donate. Thanks!
A little help.
Done just to say 'Fuck you' to those asshole vandals.