Our quest began with an all nighter giving everything the quality of a dream... By shortly after 6 a.m. of the day that the new owners were to take occupancy at 9, and our bus was to leave for Regina at 10, we were packed up and struggling with our load along the sidewalk of our home of the last 15 years...
It was October 26th, and we had just enough time to stop in at friend Cam's apt. (vacant for the night, while he slept at his girlfriend's) where we dropped off a few things and caught 90 minutes of lie down time. Dave slept. I know because I could hear his breathing! Then, it was time to pack ourselves up, gas up the rental, return it, and catch a ride from the nice rental clerk over to the bus depot.
How would the bus ride go? It had seemed like a good idea at the time when we booked it, but as time drew nearer, we had begun to wonder. It turned out better than expected. Hardly anyone on the bus. We could spread out as much or as little as we liked, and it was blissful to be able to sit still for a while. As city scenery thinned out and opened up into big sky, we enjoyed the embrace of the prairie countryside. The ride was gentle and smooth. We even caught a few zzz's.
Then, we arrived in Regina. Kathy's big embrace. We roomed together over 30 years ago in Toronto and it was just as if no time had passed... Funny coming into Regina. Like Winnipeg with all identifying markings removed. Saskatchewan somehow more purely prairie than Manitoba. The whole look more stylistically simplified, unified. And there, in the middle of it, an old friend! We had Kathy's lovely two story home to ourselves as she was staying with her boyfriend on the weekend. But first, we stopped at the health food store and went home to prepare and enjoy a beautiful feast together. The next day, after a blissful sleep in a bed, we took in some sights, including the Joe Fafard retrospective at the Mackenzie Art Gallery in the Tommy Douglas Building; Kathy's office, classrooom, etc. at the University of Regina. Finally we tied the visit up at a friendly gathering of people, mainly of the visual arts persuasion. The following day we threw our things together in order to make it to the bus depot: 12:00 noon bus heading for Vancouver, Sunday, October 29th.
