Stark raven mad

The place earth and sky meet

Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of experiencing BC's coastal mountains cannot deny that they are a magical place that instills a sense of  awe, timelessness and beauty that subtly reminds us of our own insignificance in the grand scheme of the universe. Legends are born in the isolation, amid shadows cast in deep forest peaks and valleys. Not surprisingly the Coast Salish people have a long history of storytelling as a way of keeping their legends alive. One oft-appearing character in these legends is Raven. Raven is a roguish trouble maker who enjoys mischief and a good laugh at the expense of others. He is a shape shifter able to take all human and animal forms. I met Raven just the other day on my way up to Capilano Watershed Reserve Park.

I am not particularly proud of my actions in this tale. But before you judge me harshly, make sure that Raven doesn't hear you, because he loves nothing more than to stir things up, particularly how and when you least expect it. I was off to explore Greater Vancouver's most important watershed. Though it's not very accessible, it's gorgeous and will be covered in a future blog.

There are many raven carvings on these totem poles

found in Stanley Park

I was  running late to meet my friends (never hike in the back country alone), so instead of following the trip route that I know works, I took a short cut. As regular readers will know I am a fan of public transit. Normally when heading up Grouse or Cypress mountain I start the trip in the Lonsdale Quay bus loop. Trying to meet the bus further along its route led to a very frustrating and fruitless experience when  I was passed by 5 buses coming 25 minutes apart. After almost two hours of waiting I figured my friends would be well along the trail , so I gave up and headed to their camp to leave a note.

The bus I neededto get to their camp arrived and had plenty of room. Following Translink policy, I signalled to the driver that I would like to board. At that point the driver was supposed to drop the ramp, allow me to get on, and then raise the ramp to board the other passengers. Instead he boarded all the other passengers first. Consequently, both the aisle and the wheelchair section were full of sitting and standing passengers. With a little anger in my voice, but trying to keep my emotions in check, I said to the driver, "You are supposed to let me on first." "I know," replied the driver.  "Good job, then," said I in a cynical tone and a sneer. I proceeded past the driver and said in a voice just short of a yell, "Excuse me people in the front, I am going to have to do the bus driver's job and ask all of you to stand up and move back. Some of you will have to exit for a moment until I get settled. Sorry, the driver didn't do his job." Once I had settled in, the driver came back to my seat and said, "If you say one more word about the way I do my job, you are off." Red faced, I said, "Good luck with that." I'll clear the bus and call in the authorities," he threatened. "And tell them I'm angry because you didn't do your job? I retorted.  the driver returned to his seat and we set off. The passenger in front of me mockingly wipds tear from his eyes  and said, "Boo hoo, I'm in a wheelchair I'm mad at everybody and  evrybody is an  #@$^&&&*  because I'm in a wheelchair," he continued. Livid I blurted out, "I'm sure you would be an  #$%R^*(^%  if you could walk or not." Things progressed with this character who I now realize was that trickster bird, Raven. Instinctively I must have known as I kept flipping him the "bird" throughout our conversation. Things deteriorated to the point where he was kicking me and I was whacking him in the shins with a hiking stick. No one had even thought about the bus driver for at least ten minutes. Passengers either looked at their feet or were riveted to this bizarre spectacle that included staring contests  bluster and other ritualistic feats of strength that often proceeds all-out violence. With out provocation, suddenly the driver yelled  "If you'r going go talk about me then at least say it loud enough for me to hear."  At this point I had a moment of sanity and replied, "We weren't even talking about you, let's all just take a time out." There was silence for the remainder of the trip. Until next time, don't let the Raven trip you up.