Thursday, September 6th, 2012

Souls that Came

 

Murillo, Ontario

 

Susanne DuBeau was the first person to talk to me today. I moved with a steady stride along Alder Road toward Murillo when Susanne pulled over with her Canada Post vehicle. In a sense, we were playing leap-frog with each other. She would drive past me and then stop at one of those outdoor post box stations, slide mail into individual post boxes. At this point, I passed her until she drove to the next station. In this way the procedure went on.

 

Labelled on the side of her van was a pitch for surrendering to Jesus. When I first read that I thought, "Oh Boy, here we go - an attempt at trying to convert me." But now, Susanne was sweet. She offered a ride which I naturally could not accept. We chatted, and I surmised that, yes she was the real thing, she was being like a real Christian - friendly and kind, and like her name implies, beau means beautiful. She is a beautiful soul.

 

The next souls to see me were suspicious ones. They were two officers, slightly apologetic upon seeing me, the one policeman said, "Now theres a situation here were someone called in saying you were an escapee from the nearby youth correctional services. They all wear orange, you see!"

Thunder Bay Police pull over suspected escapee

 

I could not contain myself from laughter, "The last time I came to the Thunder Bay hospital area, someone spotted me walking and called the police under the suspicion that I was a patient, taking off with some hospital bedsheets (referring to my robes)." At that stage, the two cops could also not contain themselves from knee-slapping laughter.

 

I met another soul who happened to be walking pass the police and I. He was an older soul - or at least his body - who dedicates 2 kilometres to walking. I caught up to him after the police departed. I told him of my cross-nation pilgrimage and he told me of all the flooding that happened in the area earlier this summer. He mentioned how water levels rose and how fish were crossing the road. "It was on YouTube!" he said.

More souls came my way, including Brent from the Chronicle Journal. I complemented him since this was the fourth time trekking through, and he has been there since the very start. When he first came to see me, it was 1996 on my first walk. Now when he pulled over and, with camera in hand, I said, "So Brent, we must be friends by now." He said, "Yes we are!"

 

34 Km

 

Interview with Brent from the Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal in Murillo

 

Kakabeka Falls