Prince George , British Columbia Canada
About 11:30 PM
The street lamps actual light emission is exagerated in this photo as it was actually really dark , even with a full moon but yes that's the sky. This is actually above the city with a birds eye view of the city below but forget the romance about the view, people in here have absolutely no belief in it. So much so they never added a lovers lane for viewing pleasure.
The one car parked in the far right with its lights on sat there the whole while and seemed strange and out of place.
Actually it seems everywhere you look it seems people are looking through predatory eyes or constantly wary and suspicious.
With accusations of a formerly crooked and corrupt civic leadership, an exiled ex-police chief accused of loose at best leadership, and a former top judiciary member jailed, many unsolved murders and missing persons files, a prevalent ongoing drug problem, a nearly vacant downtown core with no anchorage save one hotel and neglected neighborhoods, there's good reason behind the feeling.
For far too long Prince George lived and operated in its tiny bubble virtually free from outside "interference" and people grew complacent and accepting, so now change , instead of exciting and enticing, sounds like an exasperating thing and the new leadship has no yen or appreciation for the ghosts of its past or in its closet. They prefer the city to have a new overcoat and to leave the outer vestiges of its old skin far behind.
I think part of this reason for this is that out of all of the clamour for change, it has come at great cost and sacrifice. Any victory at all for people who have sought it may end up in actuality feeling quite pyhric.
But my politics are all out of whack here as everyone from the City Mayor to the current Premier to the Prime Minister of Canada are all people I never voted for (although kudos the current Mayor of Prince George I think hes a great guy and excellent civil leader).
Politically I like Conservatives in government at the civic level, NDP lefters at the Provincial level and Liberals in power at the Federal level. Come next election time I would vote for Mike DeJong if he were the next Liberal leader. Rich Coleman too but I doubt he would win the leadership. Anybody else and I will just vote for a new party which I hope there is one because I was really impressed with Chris 'Silver Fox' Delaney in the last election.
With all that said, things are changing as we speak, and the City seems poised not at the edge of an abyss but at the very edge of a courageous leap forward to exist on the precipice of greatness as multimillion dollar investments of unprecedented scale are in the works. But for the appreciable scale of change yet to come, so large it is that it will probably be a full five years before it is in place and I would be very surprised if it came sooner.
And today was Canada Day so I wore my downy cotton soft pure snow white shorts, a grey cotton muscle t and a red Canada - Vancouver hat with an inukshuk and went out to show my colors and spirit to the world. I figured this van parked outside the store would be worth a cam shot for my blog. The German flag probably something to do with the fervor for the World Cup soccer matches and little else. There used to be quite a few notable cultural exceptions to dry English logic square minded rules here but I no longer see much preponderance or prevalence.
Very beautiful women here too. Something about them suggests a capacity of soul that seems to have a wholesome view of the world with a gentle outline of all things European and sophisticated at the peripherary and not the heart. An untaintedness to them that verges on non-chalance; but borders with a down at home type wisdom that suggests happiness is an appreciable art form that city folks can only crave and are only always PURSUING and yet never reaching. I see more than a few with a sense of satisfaction that can't be bought or found amongst congested freeway arteries, bombastically busy stores with crowded bustling aisles and jammed toll bridges. Need I say more?
If this city and I were destined to be together longer than a month I would have stopped blogging quite a long time ago. Here, I am only as happy as I can be, not happy as I can be. Wider horizons and newer roads and unseen sights are always calling....
Also, I couldnt find any European brand cigarettes here and I looked far and wide and phone every store so if you are coming in from somewhere else without your Gauloises, you cant find them in this town.
It's also no fun living here without the advantage of toys and living without a 4x4 is the epitome of pure ludicrousness if you're male like me . A motorized boat and ATV would make for significant add on accessories as well as a skidoo for the winter but a 4x4 seems like just a start for "surviving" as a male here..no shortage of great outdoors activities if youve got means
....forgot to listen to Canadian music today.....Milli Vinnilli it was, yes, them.Drinking Sprite instead of Coke, iced tea instead of iced coffee...save cola for the windshield:)
