Enough with the Amber Grains
Approaching Saskatoon, Candian Hwy 16 (also known as the Yellowhead) widens to four lanes from two. Imagine, after 12 of so hours of driving, looking to the left and seeing a teenager in the back seat of his parents’ car, holding to his window a piece of paper conainting the simple query:
Something in his eyes conveyed a sense of earnestness to his question, ambiguous as it was. I mouthed, “why what?”
He lowered the piece of paper for a moment then raised it again to the window. The previous message had been altered to read:
YOU’RE FROM CALIFORNIA? WHY HERE?
Apparently in Saskatchewan, parents don’t complement the “don’t be rowdy in the car” speech with the “don’t initiate written conversation with drivers of other vehicles” speech.
Not having time to mull over a response, I waved an upturned palm at the landscape surrounding us. With the same panache (or a close facsimile thereof) a model on The Price Is Right flaunts, say, a shiny, stainless steel Osterizer, I introduced to my interlocutor the infinitely expansive nothingness of Saskatchewan.
Instead of the oohs and ahhhs garnered by a gameshow hostess, though, my audience thought for a moment, took down his sign again, and offered the following scrawled response:
It may well be the case that since the days of explorers and pioneers there hasn’t been a better reason to traverse the 500 miles of wheat and canola between Winnipeg and Saskatoon than to have a teenager in the back of his parents’ Buick call you a fool—in writing no less—at 120km/hour.
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6 responses
Comment posted at 08:39 on Thursday, July 22, 2004
That exchange was literature, cinema, and the whole of our existence. Thanks.
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Comment posted at 07:10 on Friday, July 23, 2004
To truly appreciate that part of the country it’s better to do it in a covered wagon. Otherwise you’re traveling so fast that it begins to feel repetitive.
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Comment posted at 20:27 on Friday, July 23, 2004
“Fool!”, huh? Sadly, this is the high point of his day. Possible his week.
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Comment posted at 16:00 on Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Actually “fool” is a fairly sophistocated, almost poetic word for a teen today. One would have expected a word like “suck” or “dude”.
I feel hopeful.
Jar
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Comment posted at 20:15 on Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Chas—use a black marker next time. The yellow was hard to see.
Greg—the covered wagon dealership was all out of covered wagons. They had a used Saab, though, which I grabbed for cheap.
Blake—sadly, it was the high point of my day too.
Marijka—Actually, I lied. The sign said, “Fool: Suck, Dude!”
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Comment posted at 08:07 on Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Hi again-
I think there is something quite charming/romantic about that method of communication- although I feel the suject of communcation didn’t do it much justice-if one had a lip stick (pref. red) you could have had quite a conversation via the window:- anyway glad to see you kept your eyes on the road- just about!
all the best
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