Sometimes I can be such a dolt. The
time I met Dr. Jane Goodall, in my
excitement, I knocked a glass of water
over on her desk. There was a time
when I was meant to meet Russia’s
Prime Minister Gorbachev, and had
it not been cancelled due to political
upheaval, I wonder what clumsy mayhem
I might have unleashed in his
office. I do usually manage to hold it
together, but not this week.
When I got a chance to ask Wade
Davis some questions, in spite of all
my preparations, to my embarrassment,
I stared back at him in a quiet
state of awe and wonder.
Years ago someone on the island
that I barely knew saw me in the
cove. Unexpectedly, she told me she
had a book that would resonate with
me. She said I had to read it, and she
showed up at my door two days later
with a Wade Davis book. It was The
Wayfinders. I loved the book. I never
imagined that years later, I’d be sitting
with the author as he pointed out the
collection of books he’d used for some
of his references while writing that
very book.
People who push commonly held
boundaries of knowledge and beliefs
intrigue me. Their work fires up my
own aspirations and passion for exploration
and learning.
While growing up, I had an uncle
who had left Saskatoon at 16 to join
the United States Merchant Marine
using my grandmother’s forged signature.
Many years later, he would
show up and tell stories in his smooth
southern drawl. He’d tell of being
made an honorary chief in a village
in the South Pacific after rescuing a
drowning member of the local tribe.
He would describe rituals, animals,
exotic plants and strange events from
around the world. He was a traveller
and a great storyteller and I was
hooked on every word.
As soon as I finished university,
I set off to learn about life beyond
books and the Canadian border. I
searched for water with Samburu in
Africa, travelled under veil among
the Kurds, staying in their homes. I
made my way into Nepal and India,
taking part in the rituals of weddings
and funerals and everyday life. When
Glasnost came into being, I was
allowed to follow a river up past the
Arctic Circle, engaging with reindeer
herders, elders, and the first freely
elected politicians.
As Davis said in one of his TED
talks, “All of these peoples teach us
that there are other ways of being,
other ways of thinking, other ways of
orienting yourself in the Earth.”
These days, adventures are sold in
bulk. The authentic encounters, the
one-on-one interaction where communication
is an expression in the
eyes and in the movements of the
body, where we gain even a momentary
understanding of someone or
something else, can be transcendent.
Within this context, it is small wonder
that a researcher like Wade Davis
would cause me a moment of pause.
I hope you enjoy this week’s pictures
and stories as much as I did capturing
them.
Louise
