I remember having quarters in my pocket. At first, these silver tokens were gateways to sugar. Mechanical candy machines at the mall gave up a small handful of Runts or gumballs guaranteed to stain my hand if not consumed within the first minute or two of the clickity click of the knob. The coveted 25 cent piece could also be used at the arcade. Doing my own spitfire turns, I would head down to the corner to spend hours Punching Out, or fighting Ghosts and Goblins. But the quarter had another use - communication.
"Hey mom, having dinner at Jon's" (but actually going to the store for candy then sneaking around the old abandoned barn) Don't tell!. Back in those days, we memorized our 7 digit numbers and punched steel buttons on Superman style payphones to coordinate our comings and goings.
At some point in my late teens, the need to add area codes was implemented. They had always been a thing, but we had never prefixed someones number with the area code, unless we were calling out-of-province. This was something that kids generally didn't do. Another thing that kids generally didn't do was hitchhike.
Not many people did back then I guess, but to me it seemed a very sensible way to travel. Perhaps I was influenced too early from Kerouac musings, but I thought this would be adventurous and fun. It was! I zipped back and forth across this massive country more than a few times. I visited friends in every province and even made it to Alaska by thumb! You get a great sense of a country when you meet people that are travelling through it. Also, you see the places; the areas, and their codes.
This little rug is a bit of nostalgia for me. My first trip across Canada, full of ideas and wonder, I never wanted to forget those rides I got. The amazing people who showed me parts of my country that I would never have seen. Each brief lift was an insight, or the sharing of a person, or people who trusted me in their vehicles to not be a madman. Thanks to all of you for all of the escapades, antics and all the rides. I really appreciate getting to see the mountains and foothills of 403, the massive sky in 306, feeling the wind in 204, and finally making it to 416 before continuing on to my destination (and perhaps the next rug?). Road Trip was made of various wool strips in the summer of 2024. This was my first time using a tapestry frame, which wasn't my favourite. This kind of frame forces one to work on only one section at a time, rolling each section away. I didn't like not being able to see the entire piece at once, nor did I enjoy the lack of security of the frame. The wingnuts were fussy and they scratched and impeded me from slipping the whole thing into a backpack. Mostly, it was strange to have to fully plan the piece before starting. I'm really a hook-as-I-go kind of person. I'll hang on to this frame for now, but hopefully I will find someone who appreciates it more than I do and I can send it on a trip of its own.
Comments