My Family After Tragedy

There is a story behind every photograph taken.  Pictures are testimonies, they have their own soul and objectives.  One can look at the picture and wonder "why was this picture taken?  What is it trying to tell me?"  It could be a happy moment, something beautiful, endless possibilities.  Pictures even take new dimensions under the fantasy and creativity of the curious onlooker. In the summer of 2014, my family and I were walking on Main Street Barkerville Historic Park & Town; browsing and window shopping.  The street was very busy, boiling with actors, and actresses wearing the attire from the old days.  It is difficult not to be enchanted by ancient buildings, the irregular dirt road, the actors, horse riders trotting slowly, accompanied by a coach horse-drawn style carriage lifting a slight cloud of dust, like a portrait from years long gone.  The only pieces out of place were the tourists trying to blend in. An actor playing Billy Barker could be seen talking to peo

I wrote  "What Are You Going To Do With It?"  late last night, and have read it many times to re-live it, and also for editorial purposes.  There are many stories in draft mode in my blog.  Often I remember something and I start the post because I do not want the thought to go to sleep again.  Many years ago, around the time I arrived from the United States to join my wife for good, I told Christina that perhaps we should write our story.   "Write it" - she said to me.  I meant to tell her, that we should write it together; but she was adamant. "No, this is something you need to do.  Write it". It is amazing how much I remember.

Road trip! There wasn't a summer that we didn't set out to discover new places in British Columbia, and road trips were a joy for our family. Our roads are well built and maintained, very safe to travel on. There are attractions for all tastes, but if I have to select my favorite, that distinction belongs to the Cariboo Gold Rush Trail! The Cariboo Road, a project that started in the mid-19th century starts a few kilometers north of Hope, in Fort Yale.  This town has an interesting history, and it helped make a lot of people very rich during the Fraser River Goldrush.  To this day, modern prospectors visit Fort Yale, where the province holds an open claim for everyone to try their luck. We visited Fort Yale many times over the years; it was one of our favorite close-to-home road trips destinations.  The warm breeze combing the trees, the sound of the raging river, the girls running around laughing, and Christina cooking Goulash on the riverbank while I was gold panning is still