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Labracadabra-dor and Newfoundland
What if? What if the entire, thinking world stopped reacting to what DJT says or does? What if we just stopped listening to him ramble on incoherently? What if the big corporations and the governments around the globe simply tuned him out? Would he go away? Speaking of going away and tuning out.
LOML and I decided this was the summer to visit Newfoundland and Labra-cadabrador. I won’t speak for LOML but for the most part it was pretty easy to avoid broadcast news for fourteen days. We didn’t buy newspapers. I did watch television but if you know what hotel/motel television is like in remote locales, then you know I watched re-runs of shows like Beachcombers and I Dream of Jeannie. I most certainly did not scroll through the newsfeeds on my cellphone. We did answer our messages and emails but only if we thought they needed attention. He and I took a lot of pictures. We met a lot of really interesting people from around the Country and many locals of NFLD/LB. However, the moment another person started talking about DJT, I let them know I was on vacation and didn’t give a salty cod cake about the WWoPBS, aka the Wonderful World of Political B.S. I was polite about it. As the Newfoundlanders would say, “I couldn’t be arsed”. Everyone understood, and if you’ve been to Newfoundland and Labrador you would know there’s a whole lot to see and do without muddying things up with talk of “trade wars and tariffs and Epstein stuff”. And if you’ve travelled to the far reaches of The Rock you quickly realize how isolated it is and how limited cell service can be in remote places. Let’s just say we spent a fair portion of the trip without the internet or cellphone reception. Believe it or not, it only takes a day of rocks, wildflowers, forests, local “feeds” and drinks and caribou and historical places and beautiful National Parks to make the rest of the world go away.
So, why Newfoundland and Labracadabra- dor? Well, it’s way out there. It was the only province we hadn’t visited. We’d heard so many rave reviews of glorious trips enjoyed by friends, we wanted to find out for ourselves. During the planning stages, The Rock just felt like something on the bucket list. However, as soon as we deplaned in Red Lake we knew it was a magical place. At one o’clock in the morning, as we waited at the carousel for our baggage, every person we encountered was outgoing, friendly and helpful. And, weather-wise, it was chilly. It wasn’t minus anything but it was refreshingly different. Only a few hours earlier we’d boarded at Pearson where the temperatures had soared into the 30s and there we were, happy to have worn long trousers and sweaters deplaning in a small terminal. The staff at Pearson were so-so, almost indifferent to travellers, but the airport staff at Red Lake were phenomenally friendly. That kind of friendliness we were about to experience over and over again. It’s where we got our first taste of what a real “Newfie” is all about. So many times we were asked, “Where ya from and where ya to? How long ya staying? Are you going to St. Anthony or Red Bay or Gander or Gros Morne? Don’t forget to visit the tickles. I’ve got a brudder up in Cow Head, if you need anything I’ll give you his number. Don’t forget to try the cod! Git yourself Screeched-In.” If ever there was an anthropology lesson, it was Newfoundland and Labra-cadabra-dor.
As we were soon to learn, the further you travel from the “big” places like St. John’s, Gander and Corner Brook the more outgoing the people are and the better the experiences became. We heard about Mother-in-Law doors, why many of the houses are painted bright colours, why there were cords of firewood stacked by the highways and byways and what about those vegetable gardens by the roads which seemed to be without a home nearby. We learned about The Cod Moratorium from people who had once been fishermen. We saw whales and puffins and caribou. We heard great music. We were embraced by people who openly shared their lives with us, people who lived simply (in many cases), knew how to cook up a scoff and make do with a feed.
Did we have a good time? Well, I expect nothing when we travel but Newfoundland and Labrador delivered everything I didn’t expect. The rest of the Country could most definitely take a page from their warm hospitality book. And now LOML and wonder why we waited for fifty years to go.
Thank you Fabian, Patrick and, most especially, Barb!
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