From:  Chris Hoke <mineralrock@yahoo.com>
Subject:  day 4, canada 
Date:  Thu, 12 Oct 2000


well well well.
"kitty kitty kat, skinny black cat, heads hang heavy"
yeah, a little cap'n jazz to end the evening. we're
in a shit town tonight, Thunder Bay. who knew? you
would expect a town with that kind of name to be a
powerhouse of fun, but, you'd be wrong. but we're
here. on the northern shores of lake superior.
it's a superior lake, yup. damn, i really like cap'n
jazz.  really great stuff. and guess what:
my dad actually enjoyed the Gloria Record, except
that chris has a "whiny voice". well, it's
emo/indie/cry yr eyes out while you wear your horn
rims and your baby blue sweater music. so, yeah,
he's a little whiny.  but dad enjoyed the
musicianship.  i think he has this notion...i don't
know.
well, we're in thunder bay, and it's a drag, man.
<drum solo here> "and we danced so long enough, the
sun, moved around us"
it's like....hmmm... the shitty parts of pittsburg.
but the whole city is like that.  apparently 100,000
souls suffer here in relative silence.
there's some deal about it being the place where wheat
is brought to before it's shipped, and theres the
worlds biggest grain elevator. whatever, man.  it
ain't pretty.  but i have a feeling, there's some good
music going on somewhere here.  sunny and i were
talking about omaha. guess what's in omaha?  nothing.
well, the university of nebraska.  but other than
that, it's a sleepy midwest town, sorta. i mean,
c'mon, omaha.  but i guess people are like, c'mon,
cleveland.  but anyway, guess what? saddle creek
records.  cursive.  lullaby for the working class.
tim kasher. conor oberst (bright eyes). yeah.
i think sleepy small towns with nothing to do, they
resort to making great music, right? they're so damn
bored they figure, there's nothing to do but play
music all day.  i mean, c'mon, after a while the
bowling alley gets old. and the bars?  really.

wow.  back to my trip.  our RV sometimes shakes at
night, and it reminds us we're in an rv, not our
house. "i'm dying to tell you i'm dying, i don't need
a reason"
we started out at sault (soo) ste. marie today, at six
thirty dad woke up, and at seven, or a little before
seven, he woke me up.  it was dark, dark, but dad
wanted to go. i was looking forward to a hot shower
that would last more than 5 minutes, but oh well.
so, we pointed the rv on transcanadian highway 17, and
drove west.  you know, if you pull up mapquest or
something, you can follow our trip. give yourself a
visual representation of what's goin on.  we pushed on
for a while, and here's where it got good.  rt 17 is
hilly, and cuts right next to the lake the whole time.
the sun was rising on our backside, and the more we
drove, the more the country side opened up, like
waking up in a room you've never been in and watching
the light come in the window, and suddenly...
you figure out you're in a room with dark green
carpeting and the walls have velvet gold wallpaper,
and the curtians are red crimson silk, and there's all
these winslow homer paintings on the wall.
yeah, something like that.  and it all unfolds before
you, and at first you think you're in a normal
bedroom, and it just gets better and better.

i've been thinking today, canadians, they have shit
high taxes, it's ridiculous, 30 percent, at least.
but shit, if that's the price for living in untouched
wilderness, where everyone you run into is friendly,
and the government isnt' jumping on your ass about
everything, well, it seems fair to me. nick, i'm
thinking you and i should pack up some bikes and head
out here, but it should be september next year, cause
the summer is too damn busy.

yeah, so we drove.  finally we pulled off into a
picknic area, and sort of jogged through the woods.
it was tricky, cause canadians figure if you twist
your ankle, it's yr own damn fault, tenderfoot. we
were right on the coast line, right on this beach. so,
naturally, on the way back to the bounder we decided
we should find out how fricking cold the water is.
so we stripped down and jumped into the lake.  it was
COLD.  fifty degrees, that cold. i'm not sure if i'll
be passing on the family genes, after that.

but we did it.  of course we ran back to the bounder,
and the prospect of hot coffee and warm clothes. we
drove on, just marveling at the natural splendor.
greens and reds and oranges and gold in the trees, and
crystal clear blue water on both sides. there were
endless lakes and rivers <i'm hurt you're hurt my
dad's hurt> on either side of the highway, and it
was just spectacular. i can't describe it.  it defies
description.  maybe when i get my pictures developed...

we drove on, and finally parked around noon right on
the lake, and ate some eggy weggs and sausage and
ciniman rolls, yum. we drove and drove and drove,
listeing to some louis l'amour stories, and then a
book called angela's ashes, a memoir about an irish
boy growing up in the bronx and then limerick, ireland.
depressing.  his dad takes money meant for food and
spends it all on guiness, and other sad stuff.  but
it's so well told, i was spellbound. <walking home
with a bottle of boones between us> finally we got
to thunder bay, around five? six?  not sure.  but we
were just not impressed by this city. it just didn't
do the area justice. <trying so hard to forget who
we are>

it's twelve now, i'm getting tired...

we drove around this silly city, looking for signs of
life. but all the people, they were ordinary.  teens
with cargo pants and backpacks, canadians with heavy
heads and worn hands. we got to walmart cause we
needed to shop, and picked up movies, car stuff, a
lock for the bikes, ice cube trays, iced tea,
assorted junk foods, boxers for me, oh hey, i got a
pair of grandpa shoes. yup, grey with velcro straps.
no wonder grandpas love these shoes, they're like
wearing slippers all day. time to change the cd.
<so quiet, i can hear the refrigirator is on>
we then went to some chain restauraunt, and i had a
beer.  yea.  drinking age here is nineteen, who-hoo.
had a labats with my baby back ribs, fries. traveling
tires you out, even if you're not walking around. we
were tired by the time we parked in the walmart lot,
and we watched a little bit of some movie, and now
i'm writing this.

oh, one more thing.  we decided to check out this
campground called rainbow falls, and it was sweet.
the falls fall... two hundred? three hundred feet?
but over...four hundred feet or so, like steps.
and there were little pools, deep enough for swiming
all around. we got there on one bike, first me on
the seat and dad pedaling.  but he was breathing hard.
so i pedaled the way back, with him on the back.  he
conceded that i'm a better cyclist than he is. i'll
leave the running to him, eh?  i hate running. it's
so hard on my body, my lungs, my whole body. i used
to throw up after i'd run a cross country course,
feel my body was rejecting me for giving it exercise.
but, i need to improve my stamina, it sucks.  i get
winded after ten minutes, it's pathetic.

oh, i'm tired.
it's twelve fifteen, and i'm debating a cigarette.  i
got a pack of player's lights, they're short little
smokes, shorter than a fully packed marlboro, but they
taste good. and guess who smokes em all.....

if you need to reach me, i'm avaliable at ***/***/****
or mineralrock@yahoo.com
SHIT. it's friday the thirteenth.  if that means
anything.
eleven days, and i'll be twenty.  shit.  eleven days
of teenage abandon.
oh well. i'm ready.
take care, all
chris