Feeling Leaving
Published Thursday, June 29, 2006 by Forbes Campbell | E-mail this post
Once again, we find ourselves cast out of a comfortable existence as residents of a community and solidly back in the roll of wayfarers on the dusty paved ribbon that connects there to here.
Leaving Inuvik was pretty strange. Saying goodbye was surreal, I guess because it seemed that we had settled into a niche in the town. We had a place and a purpose. As we did the rounds to thank and say "so long" to the people who were so generous with their hearts and homes, many people didn't believe that we were going as our stay had extended far beyond what had been planned. Another common reaction from them was the saying "Ah! You guys'll be back!" And, that is certainly a good possibility. Then again, what isn't a good possibility on an open road with no fixed points on the map between the start and the beginning?
The constant change of road life, and moving from place to place, meeting new friends, learning about new issues, and falling in love with new landscapes is going to be for the our hearts and spirits what weight lifting is to the muscles: a process of strengthening!
It isn't easy, but it's the nature of our project.
I think Dan actualized this for the first time since we began this journey over three months ago yesterday as we bombed out of Dawson last night, chasing the darkness south to Whitehorse for a CBC interview. He actualized what it'll mean to leave behind people and things that we fall in love with.
I feel it's an important milestone.
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