By Lucy

Note: I am writing this at the airport, very jet-lagged. Also my phone changed the dates and times of everything. I might get confused!

I woke up Wednesday morning still with a moderate headache. Grumble.

I decided to do nothing much on Wednesday. I sat around my room and picked away at the last of the donuts and the cheesies. Hard to believe I went 2 months without eating a single carb, and honestly I still missed the diet. I felt much better on it. But I am enjoying these last 2 weeks of just going out with friends and indulging. Keto is not a long-term plan for me.

When I come back in April I’m going to go back on Keto nonetheless. I liked the Factor meals – they’re healthy and convenient. Yes, they cost the same as take-out, but I eat a lot of take-out when I’m working 12-16 hour shifts or living in a motel.

At 5, I went down to meet Kevin2 at the marina. He was volunteering for Wake the Giant and needed to pick up his pass. He was given a work day of Sunday, but called Heidi to confirm. Nope, she needed him Sunday. He got back into line and I joined him as we chatted.

When he rescheduled his volunteer time, he turned to me. “Oh, Lucy here never got the email!” Wink.

“What’s your last name? We’ll just search my list for ya.” The man at the desk asked me.

What? “Oh, yeah.” I said quickly. I gave him my last name. He searched it and – predictably – didn’t find it.

“Well, we can just add you now. What day do you want to volunteer?”

I ended up with a Sunday shift, noon ’til 4. Which is just as well, I can imagine a non-zero amount of people just don’t show up for the clean-up shift, since they already got what they wanted. He handed me a folder and a badge to get into the festival.

Just like that. Free concert tickets.

We went for a walk along the waterfront, then sat down facing the water and watched the sailboats launch. So recently, I was on them, and now gone again.

It was chilly today. I headed back home. A big night tonight.

I was being inducted into the Soroptimists.

I actually forgot-ish. I’m in such a fog from anxiety about the trip, and my headache from my mushroom trip, that I got to the meeting and realized I forgot both my Soroptimist hat and my sport coat. So I walked into the meeting in my biker hoodie.

They put out a nice spread, as always. Everyone was particularly amazed by a chocolate cheese (not me, of course). I had to teach them how to cut the aged Gouda with the cheese knife. They had pretty paper plates as well.

Lee Ann noted my biker hoodie (cuz she’s also a biker) so we had a nice chat about bike shops in the area. Lee Ann is the most reassuring member, to me; because I was worried being a tattooed biker would preclude me from being welcomed as a member. No one has anything to say about us riding motorcycles, which is a big sigh of relief!

Kim brought a small gift bag for me, which was very sweet of her! It was 2 packs of Mentos, a small bottle of hand sanitizer, and an Air Canada branded “care package” that contained a disposable toothbrush, toothpaste, eye mask and socks.

After our regular meeting was the induction. I wasn’t sure what inducting would entail. I assumed I’d have to recite a pledge, but Cindy read it while I stood next to her. She gave me my pin and apologized that she had forgotten to order my nametag (Cindy!). I looked back at the sea of faces and cell phones as I stood there in my grubby biker hoodie, feeling slightly out of place.

And yet, more than anything, I felt like I belonged. No one had stopped me at the door and said “go home and change!”

Then we tidied up and divvied up the leftovers and went home.

Thursday I had my last dentist appointment. As I walked up, Emily was standing outside – serendipitously, she had an appointment at the same time! We talked in the lobby until we got called in.

Amusingly, the hygienist put on an animal documentary called “The Urge to Roam”, about animal migration.

After my appointment, I walked back home and grabbed the car. I dropped the dress from the photoshoot off at the second hand store, then went to Eli’s place and knocked on the door.

No response.

It’s not unusual for him to disappear for years, the Vagabond said. Even back when I first met Eli, he joked that his tendency to fall off the map had people often proclaiming he was dead. It was entirely possible he wouldn’t come back for the coveralls until after I got back from New Zealand!

I grabbed gas and was on my way back when Hanuman texted me for a pick-up. Today he was moving fully out of the hostel.

We ended up having to do two trips to move all his stuff, mostly because of the desk chair, but it was a ten minute drive so it didn’t take long.

In the evening we had another remote video game session planned. Very few people showed up – actually, it was just me and Paul at first. I clicked on a random “casual” game for giggles and Paul joined me. It’s one of those free-to-wait games where energy “recharges” slowly, unless you pay real money, but it was funny to just mock the game over chat. Another member named Pluto joined us, then Kevin. We stayed up ’til midnight just chatting and playing the stupid game.

I had a hard choice to make. Since my flight leaves at 5 AM, I had to either go to bed early, or consign myself to an all-nighter. As New Zealand has completely opposite time to us, crossing the date line, the all-nighter made sense. So I tried to stay up late as I could, in preparation.

Friday I buckled down and packed properly. Everything that I didn’t need for the next two days went into my suitcase or a box.

Since Andrej gave me my new laptop, I had been slowly retiring my old one. I finally pulled the plug. I bought an USB enclosure and pulled the Sata drive out of it, to use as an external storage. Bam, 400 extra gigs of space.

Discordant drumming and guitar playing drifted in from the lakeshore. They were setting up the stage and performing soundchecks for tomorrow’s concert.

I had a choice to make. I had a spare dose of magic mushrooms. It was supposed to be the Vagabond’s. I debated going to his place and knocking on his door, and handing them over, seeing him one last time. Maybe he’d invite me in. Maybe after he’d had a trip, he’d realize his mistake.

Or maybe he’d just yell at me some more.

I picked Hanuman up early and we went to my storage locker. I had buried the winter tires at the back, not expecting to need to swap them out. We rearranged everything and added some of the stuff from my room to the pile, but not everything would fit.

After I dropped him off, I drove down to Partsource. I’d lost the pin for my two-ton jack and Hanuman would need it to change the tires on my car. Heidi saw me the minute I walked in and helped me find what I was looking for. I also grabbed a pack of bungie cords, for lashing my duffel to the back of the bike. Then we chatted a bit. She’s great!

I drove to Golden Bakery and got a pizza. I was too stressed to try and cook, not to mention figuring out what to do with leftover perishables.

I went back home without dropping off the mushrooms. It was foolish to fantasize about some last-minute reunion. I texted Kevin and asked him if he wanted the mushrooms, and he said he’d be over after sailing.

Ah, right. Sailing.

At 5:30 Chris texted me, asking if I was coming.

I’d told him before I probably wouldn’t be there Friday. I felt bad because I didn’t technically have anywhere to be, but I was having a slow-motion melt-down. The strike was still very much looming, I had concerns about the number of boxes I had ended up with, the motorcycle, my general anxiety…

After sailing, Kevin came by to help me make sure I’d set the hard drive up properly. I handed him the baggie of mushrooms and he reached into his pocket for his wallet.

“Oh, I don’t want any money.” I said. After a moment, I added, “You’re getting the dose [the Vagabond] forfeited when he decided to be a jerk.”

“Ah.” He laughed mischievously.

They’d been really shorthanded that night – only him, Chris, Chris’ wife Sue, and a fourth person who’s name escapes me. As if I didn’t feel bad enough, he said they’d broken both the jib and the spinnaker due to being short-handed (and frayed already)..

I had to ask him to head out around 10:30. I didn’t want to, but I know my landlord gets funny about people staying “too late”.

Saturday morning, I drove to the farmer’s market to return all my empty honey jars. Kevin directed me to a nearby yard sale with carpentry tools, but I couldn’t find it. I drove to Eli’s again since it was nearby, but no one answered, again.

I stopped by the plaque for Fort William. The current park is actually nowhere near the original grounds. It’s deep in south Westfort, on the other side of the tracks. There’s just a plaque with a poorly tended garden, the only remnant of a once-great fort, ancient history buried and forgotten. I felt very nostalgic for this place. I feel a lot of kinship for the men and women who forged into the unknown to make this place. If there wasn’t crazy travelers like me, humanity wouldn’t have found so many wonderful places.

Saturday was Wake the Giant day.

Wake the Giant is a music festival, for lack of a better word, but it’s actually so much more than that. It’s a celebration of Thunder Bay, and indigenous culture. The concert is just a lure, to trick you into learning more about indigenous peoples without it being a stuffy history exhibit (not that I need such tricks).

I threw on my volunteer lanyard and walked down. It felt cool to be waved thru the line like a VIP!

I went down for 4PM, which is when Coleman Hell took the stage. I’ve liked his music for a long time, since his EP 2 Heads came out in 2015. I was excited to learn he was from Thunder Bay and just as quickly disappointed to discover that like most kids, he ran away to Toronto to make his fortune.

He was great! He wore a hilariously garish shirt and danced jerkily around stage, occasionally doing unhinged things like picking up the mike stand and hitting the cymbals with it. He also wielded a keytar, and at one point jumped off the stage to hug random people and take selfies with them. It seemed at odds with his music, but suddenly him being from Thunder Bay made it all make sense.

At one point he started reminiscing about a place called “Scuttlebutts”, supposedly where you could purchase beer with Canadian Tire money.

There was some guy running around in a pineapple suit, complete with green spikey headdress.

Kevin2 showed up with a friend named River. They did a tour of the vendors, then went to stand near the front (I was lingering at the back).

Rob showed up next, bringing with him a friend named James and his girlfriend. Rob was wearing a cowboy hat and boots.

“What’s with the hat?” I asked.

“Well, I did spend 15 years in San Antonio.”

“You were born in Canada, right?” I asked, confused. He didn’t sound like a Yankee.

“Yeah, I moved there when I was 5 or 6.”

We chatted for a bit. His buddy and the girl left to go tour the vendors as well. He had showed up towards the end of Coleman’s set, and after he was done I was hungry. And I had no interest in the next set, some DJ.

We made a slow loop around. The Bannock Lady was there, so I went over for a taco. Sacre bleu! They only accepted cash! Rob was very nice and gave me a five so I could buy a Taco-in-a-bag.

Turns out, DJ Shub is actually an indigenous artist who incorporates those themes into his work, and had dancers in regalia on stage. I felt bad for ducking out then, but his set was the one I had set aside to tour the vendors and there wasn’t any moving it now. Plus, you could hear the music everywhere, even back at my place.

We walked around the exhibits for a bit. I liked seeing them there! There was nothing on them I didn’t already know, but there was lots Rob didn’t so I explained it to him.

We eventually circled around to the donut truck, where Kevin and Rob’s friend caught up to us. I ordered a donut poutine – fortunately they accepted debit here.

After a while everyone disappeared and it was the Rob and Lucy show again. I grabbed a lemonade and we went to stand at the back of the crowd again for the next show, Walk Off The Earth.

I sort of like them. I like their standard releases, but they also do a lot of Glee-style acapella mash-ups and the like, which isn’t really my jam. They’re from Burlington.

My favourite bit was when they launched into a cover of “Thunderstruck”, complete with jets of fire! They also do strange things, like this giant red… digeridoo, or the 5-man guitar abomination.

Before they were done, James’ started complaining that it was a dry concert. I didn’t notice – I had no plans to hang around a beer tent. It made sense in hindsight, a lot of indigenous events are. We walked up the road to a bar and had a drink, a bar packed with people who clearly had the same plan. At one point it was so busy they filled a cooler with beer and rolled it down the line for cash to clear it out for people who want cocktails.

We walked back in time for the tail end of DJ Galantis, a generic big-time DJ from Sweden. His stuff was good, if uninteresting to me.

Then it was time for the show me and Rob had been waiting for… Arkells!

“What’s your favourite Arkells’ song? Mine’s Leather Jacket.” Rob said.

“Skin.” I replied. It was released a year ago… while I was staying at the Vagabond’s.

I thought I knew, I thought I knew
What I wanted when I started

Ask me what might have changed,
I want skin in the game

Arkells was a great show, consummate performers! The lights, screens and bass drops were on point. The lead singer reminisced about touring in Thunder Bay when they were starting out, some good stories, like going to Crocs (Crocks?). Unlike DJ Galantis, who forgot which city he was in, or even Coleman, who’s reminisces had a tone similar to a drunk brother-in-law giving a wedding toast.

And then Skin came on and he messed up!

For real! He said last two lines twice – I like your skin when it’s freezing cold/ Let me kiss you at midnight every New Year – and skipped the ones before it – And I like your skin when you’re getting goosebumps /Whispering things that you wanna hear.

Hah!

Oh well, I suppose we’re all only human.

Shortly after 11, Rob suggested we leave before the show closes out and the streets get clogged. We went back to the bar and had another drink. The show was still going half an hour later, but they ordered an Uber, after unsuccessfully attempting to offer to walk me home. Dude, I am neither fragile nor harmless.

I walked home alone, glancing across the water at the giant. Who knows when I would see this familiar skyline again? I love it here so much, I forget I’ve only been here since March. But missing it is how I know this is somewhere I really want to be.

Rob asked me if I had always been this way. Which was a nice change from everyone seeming to take it for granted my life has always been like this. I decided to link my origin story for my new readers so they won’t have to scroll back for it. I also updated it to clarify, the Vagabond telling me stories about his travels is what triggered me to realize I wanted to travel as well. At some point I’ll have to fix the menu!

Vagabondry, or: How I Learned to Love Homelessness