A Great Wake-Up Call

Get into it.

I woke up lazily today at around 7:25am to my phone ringing off the hook.... "Get your ass out of bed and walk down the street" was the message when I finally answered. I am so glad I got that call. I'm also glad that I was randomly working from home (and not 5 minutes from my office cubicle which I would have been normally).

When I got my ass in gear (randomly in a pair of white track pants and a bright red hoodie) and got to the end of my street I was greeted by thousands of people dressed in white and red waving Canadian flags and cheering as loudly as they could. May I remind you that this was well before 8:00am.

I grabbed a coffee and stood at the side of the road like everyone else and watched as the madness ensued. First there were the sponsors giving away free canadian flags and 'swag' followed by the RCMP and then lastly the torch. Well not quite last. The torch came and then 200 or so people running behind the torch to keep up. It honestly brought a tear to my eye and tightened my throat.

I am one of those easily caught up in the ever increasing debates: 'are the Olympics good for a province or are they not so good', 'is the debt worth the re-structuring of the city or would the money be better spent on the most poor postal code in North America (East Side Vancouver)'.

Whatever side one ends up taking, its undeniable the power and excitement that comes with national pride and a symbol of hope. The news has been littered over the last few years with natural disasters and economic turmoil. The Olympics may have been created originally (way back when in Greece) as a deterrent to political strife but what if for a moment it is actually worthwhile for people to forget. For people to come together as one nation, as one world and celebrate humanity as a whole.

This morning was a breath of fresh air and I truly hope all of you get a glimpse of what these games mean to this country, just as I did.

Into the Wild

"There was another irony he failed to appreciate: His struggle to mold me in his image had been successful after all. The old walrus in fact managed to instill in me a great and burning ambition; it had simply found expression in an unintended pursuit."

Jon Krakauer - Into the Wild

Beautifully put and ringing true. A line I paused on for quite some time.

No I haven't seen the movie. Typically I don't. I read more than I watch - it's not a new age yuppie statement it just 'is what it is'. I have almost finished the book and Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer truly is an inspirational and fascinating read.

I am more of a fiction lover myself. I find nothing to be more enjoyable than the experience of running away with a character and a story written by a talented author. Quite often I find non-fiction to be missing one of these key components. In my opinion non-fiction works are quite often a beautiful or heart-wrenching story lacking the artful pen that brings them to life so to speak.

Jon Krakauer proves to be a wonderful exception to this personal belief. He is a powerful author who has not only done justice to the individual and subsequent story he has captured in print, but has become the potential voice for an entire generation. The true story of Chris McCandless (pictured above), the 24 year old American who died on an Alaskan wilderness break from civilization, is the story of a disturbed yet idealistically charged individual set upon a course that no friend, family member, or foe could break.

Some believe (most actually) that Chris McCandless was a desolate and stubborn individual set on his own demise. Others think McCandless was a tragic young man simply lost in his own thoughts. While both of these beliefs may have an aspect of reality to them, it was McCandless' undeniable passion that created an air of infatuation around his tale. He was highly educated and very well read (the book is littered with quotes from famous literary texts found scrawled into the sides of the bus where his remains were found).

Chris McCandless was, while young and naiive, an inspiration. He was a passionate young man representative of a generation unafraid to believe in something. No longer numbed by the sparkly promise of material consumption, power, and wealth. I believe there will be more like McCandless to come. Maybe not those who march into the middle of Alaska ill-equipped for the harsh realities of mother nature - but those equally ready to reject all that has become our modern day and age - or more appropriately dubbed - 'normal' living.