I realise that I don’t hold up my end as I am a terminal Newfoundlander. I’ll be gone in a fortnight. I want to make the most of it and while I would like nothing better than to stay and drink. It would take out two days at least.
Kennedy will be here to-morrow and he will keep up but he can always return, it is three hours from Toronto.
The conversation is good, but I suspect that he thinks that I am moralising when I don’t help out with the red wine. I hate red wine.
This may have been different, if the day hadn’t been so frustrating and of course frustrating in only the way of the Rock.
I thought everything would be solved when I
headed over to Ray at the College of the North Atlantic – imagine my shock when I walked in without i.d., body scan. Imagine even more my shock seeing their digital lab. It makes the World’s Greatest Art School look like some hobbyist’s space - all G5 towers, at least 30 of them in the room that I looked in – there were two rooms. Imagine what they could do if they had the vision and the money of our great leader – the Millard Fillmore of Art School Presidents.He had tanks for me gave me two each hold 4 rolls. Great, We caught up, he told me what he wanted to do. He also in essence offer the facilities to the photo department in the summer if we wanted to do have study trips to the Rock. It seems that he has been given carte blanche to improve the department. I said that in return for the tanks and spirals if he wants I would come in and make some students cry. We part.
Ah but the strangeness of the Rock. It seems in one of my other Townie incarnations, when I was photographing everyone who spoke to me I photographed this woman – Beth. When Ray started dating her she came over to his old place in the Battery – what an idiot to give that up - and there was my picture of her on his table.
I head to Newfoundland Imaging all happy as now all I have to do is buy the rest of the chemicals and I can develop film – and make prints next week as Ray said that I could use the darkroom when it is up.
Buy the one type of fixer they have - luckily it will work. that is just about it. I look for neg files that are horizontal they only have vertical. I want 35mm neg sleeves that will hold 42 frames, they have only 35 framed sleeves. The thermometer is precisely the one that I tell all my students not to buy as it is so slow in reacting.
They have no beakers, graduates why bother.
But they have stocks of Rodinol – which was discontinued over a year ago.
This is the B&H of the Rock – I ran into the photographer who was at the party there, Ray recommends it, they ripped off Kendra for inkjet paper in 2005 - and I cannot even get a decent thermometer.
I bought 100 neg files, a litre of rapid fixer, the smallest Photo-flo available, a thermometer and 50 sheets of Epson Enhanced Matte Paper all for $100 before the 14% HST.
This was the first awareness of being a terminal Newfoundlander. Had I lived here or were here for more time I would have done like everyone else and ordered either from Toronto or the states even with the added taxes it would be cheaper. I simply don’t have the time.
I try the dollar store for a graduate.
Reeling I have to make something of this day but cannot remember right away what other errands I have to run. Ah M Francis Kelly for book board and archival tape.
Don’t have book board so I get the thickest card that I can get. I should stop at St Michael’s Printshop to see where I can get this stuff but it is Monday and they are closed.
I’ll head out to Michaels to buy needles and black hemp and paper to for the covers. Run across to Dominion to buy 500ml and litre bottles for the chemistry.
I think that I have everything but am tired and in need of a drink to cleanse me of the Big Zig grease. The first bit of junk food since I have arrived. I have no soft drinks here no sweats - haven’t needed it – and the shocker of all shockers – I went out for a walk this morning without having coffee – my reputation is ruined.
At M Francis Kelly the good moods was still winning out over the frustrations. I hadn’t expected much as I am leaving a woman there opens the door and asks where I got my bag?
- you mean the bag of the republic? As I head back inside.
- Yeah, they wanted to ask but were too afraid.
- Timbuk2 specially made it was hard to get the correct shade of pink.
- You nailed it
Obviously I had to photograph her in which she became embarrassed and turned around
-no no not your good side can you face me?
It was then that the woman behind the counter remembered me and started screaming to her co-worker (who was born in Evanston Illinois)
-remember that picture that came in the post and we wondered where it was from and who took it? She said glaring at me.
While getting my big zig, I make a snap of the clerk.
- wow – buddy says – I am ok with that but you should ask first.
I go into the spiel on what I am doing saying that I don’t want people to think that Newfoundlanders are toothless old men longing for the cod to return.
-Newfoundlanders – he says – are people on the way to someplace else.
The morning was great – Baird and me compete to see who has the better sunrise – the 100k/h winds stopped sometime during the night as did the rain. The sky was clear bright blue. It was too early for the rhythms of the ATV and the cutting of wood that competes with the ocean.
It was a day to make the readers jealous.
I picked up the lads and headed north to Cape St Francis. Telling myself to get as far as possible then wander back.
That didn’t happen. I started deviating as soon as I got to the ballpark. Walking along the cliffs looking back at downtown Pouch and remember an annoying trait of the North Atlantic winter sun. It doesn’t make all that high above the horizon. Looking back at Pouch there was the glare of the low lying Sun moving between the Saddle and the Tolt. Away from it my shadow was in the picture.
Of course since I now have figured out that I cannot do “…” there were three images made to-day that would work perfectly.
Walking is the best, taking the trails along the ocean there were all sorts of surprises that I would never see from a machine on the road. Back on the road so as not to fall over a cliff, I run into an elderly couple on their walk.
-Want to buy a place?
I am getting offers all the time now
They lived just north of me in Main Road. I was gawking that this overly large log home.
-An American built that figures but it doesn’t look like anyone is in it.
-there is no one there.
-oh.
Make their snap and head out on the Cape but it is getting late and I have to head into the College of the North Atlantic to pick up the tanks.
Photograph a log tepee – which had my shadow in the entryway – an ugly inukshuk and a camp fire before heading back.
Heading into town after getting the post, a bloke walking his dog stops and asks if I came from the studio?
When I see that he means the pipe house, I said yes.
-Are you renting out the bottom studio?
-depends imagining Baird’s surprise when buddy here tries to set up downstairs.
It seems that he has bought a house on the south side of town I know which one it is. He and his wife are upper Canadians from Kitchener Waterloo and he want to start a TaeKwonDo studio in Pouch as well as Flatrock and Torbay. He is looking for space. Tell him to make himself known at Bruce’s.
We then chat about the area. he was born on the Rock and kept trying to convince his wife about the magic of the place.
-but you can’t – he says.
-yeah how can you describe the effect of the sound of the sea in the background and how you can hear the changes.
- have you noticed that you can smell the island as soon as you leave the plane?
- The spruce? Yeah that’s how you know. I had just felt the same thing walking today you brush up against something on the trail and it smells great.
- And while we both have things to do we still stop and chat.
-when my wife got here she hit me yelling why didn’t you try to convince me harder?
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