I’m at the Ottawa River ferry crossing to Cumberland. Dad will be waiting on the other side. We’ll probably get into his liquor cabinet tonight, so I hope my body is ready for a little more abuse.
I start the next morning off right. Dad makes me a whole plate of eggs, and then there is toast, peanut butter, home-made jam, bananas, and, yes, THREE cups of coffee with Bailey’s. That’s why I don’t get started on the road again until 10:00 am.
I had my first weigh-in yesterday. Dad has a bathroom scale, so after a monster-sized supper and a couple of (okay, a few) beers, I stepped on the scale. Despite stuffing my face with every fat-forming type of food humans have ever produced, and the numerous stops at restaurants along the way, I have still lost 15 pounds in 26 days.
It’s a beautiful day, hot, about 29 degrees, sunny, and filled with promise. Ottawa is a large city, so I spend a lot of time walking along the sidewalks. Lots of streetlights, slow progress. I start getting excited as I walk along Rideau Street and see the Rideau Centre, wherein, by the way, at a place I think was called the Elephant and Castle, I drank my first pint of Guinness at the age of 19. There have been many more pints of Guinness in the last 35 years.
I hit a pedestrian traffic jam near the Rideau Centre. It is like driving from a 100 km/hr zone down to 30. Do we really walk this slowly when we’re ambling along? I’m reminded of how rapidly I’ve been walking on this trek.
I lived here in Ottawa for a couple of years back in the early 80s, so it was like seeing old friends. The Rideau Centre, the Chateau Laurier, the Rideau Canal locks, the Parliament Buildings, the Eternal Flame. Ah, it felt good to be here, especially with such fine weather.
Right now, I’m standing beside a statue of Terry Fox. I came here on purpose for inspiration. There’s a plaque that displays one of his quotes: “I was lucky to do what I did. How many people ever get a chance to do something that they really believe in?” Indeed, Terry. Indeed.
This is my first trip to see his statue. It was unveiled in 1998, and I haven’t been down here since the mid-90s. And it’s located exactly where it should be – directly across the street from the Parliament Buildings. Well done, my friend, Terry Fox. Your legacy is still inspiration for us all.
