The Halifax Race Riot. It DID Happen. I Know. I Was There.

****UPDATE****

I have been informed that the events which led up to the riot actually started at Bogarts.  THEN it went on to Rosa's.
*******************************************************


I was out with co-workers for dinner at The Keg last week. 

If you like steak, and you’re in Halifax, go to The Keg.  ‘nuff said.

From there, the group of us went to something called a ‘Captured Room’ for a ‘team play’ experience.  It was fun, but that’s not what this post is about. 

And we didn’t make it out of the room in the allotted time.  Damnit.

In fact, I’m writing this post from somewhere in the ‘1943 Halifax’ room.  I’m now a prop.

Over dinner, those of us at our particular table started discussing Halifax’s bar scene, ‘back in the day’.

Apparently, I was the oldest at the table, since the others had no idea about the majority of bars I brought up. 

Back in MY day, it was Bogarts, Scoundrals, JJ’s, Peddlers and Rosa’s that were the spots to go (among others like The Graduate, Split Crow, Your Father’s Mustache etc.).

None of these bars are here anymore, except the Mustache and Split Crow. Those two are still kicking around. 

Others have taken their place, but the ‘good old bars’, as I remember them, are now gone.

The local bar scene at that time wasn’t necessarily the ‘good old days’ for everyone, though.  The bar scene in the early 90’s in Halifax was racially charged and you could feel the tension on any weekend night, in any downtown bar. 

And so in the same conversation I asked, ‘Do you (looking at the one Haligonian at the table) remember the race riot back in the early 90’s?  It started at Rosa’s.’

Nobody, including the Haligonian, knew what I was talking about.

I haven’t heard many people talk about that riot over the years.

Keep in mind, social media wasn’t even a thought back then, so it wouldn’t have been blasted all over the internet. 

But although it wasn’t as huge as the LA riots, it was a big deal here, at the time.

It was a riot.  Crowds of angry people were swarming down Gottingen Street breaking windows.  Police in riot gear were everywhere. 

How do I know?

I was there.  Right in the middle of it all.

As our group left The Keg and was walking down to the Captured Room location on Barrington, we happened to walk by The Carleton Bar and Grill and I said to the others, “THIS was Rosa’s.  THIS is where the riot started!’

 Image taken from HERE 

I wasn't in/at the bar when it started, but I heard the commotion when they got to Gottingen St. because my boyfriend at the time (now ex-husband) lived only one block away, on Creighton, and we were at his apartment. 

We heard the screaming.  We heard the breaking glass.  We heard the sirens.

So, of course, being 20somethings with no fear … we decided to check it out.

Now, my memory from 26yrs ago is a little foggy at the best of times, but what I specifically remember from that night, aside from all the chaos, was running between the buildings to get down to the street, rounding the corner and coming face to face with a wall of police officers, in full riot gear.

I also remember very clearly what the one officer closest to us screamed at us… 

‘Get the Fuck out of here … NOW!’ 

Apparently he didn’t think two white kids should be running headfirst into a race riot.

Once I saw what was actually happening on the street, the destruction and chaos, I can’t say I disagreed with him. 

We ran.  In the opposite direction from all the craziness in the street.

Back in the safety of the apartment, we listened to all the commotion a block away.

It was the one and only real ‘riot’ I’ve ever been in, if only for a few minutes, but it was an experience, even with my shitty memory, that I never forgot. 

I’ve never really understood the racial tension that envelopes the city I’ve lived in since I was 18.

They, whoever 'they' are, say that ‘race relations have improved’, over the years.  But have they, really?

I’m a white kid from small town New Brunswick.  I grew up in a town that had literally only a handful of African Canadian families. 

To me, those few African Canadian kids were just other kids in school.  No different than the rest of us.  No hate. No racial tension.  None that I was aware of, anyway.

I guess that’s why I find it so hard to understand the racial profiling and racism that still runs rampant in Halifax today. 

People say its better.  They say there is no racism here, but … I suspect if you ask an African Canadian living here in Nova Scotia, they might have a different perspective.

I wasn't able to find much online about the night of the riot.  Like I said, it seems like people have either forgotten, didn't hear about it, or just don't discuss it.  At least the people *I'VE* asked.

I did find a couple of things...

"Twenty years ago, racial tension in the city reached its tipping point.

A Halifax bouncer turned away several young black men from Rosa’s Cantina for reasons they felt had more to do with the colour of their skin than the fact they had been involved in an earlier scuffle on Argyle Street.

The white men involved in that same fight were already inside. The fallout would come the following night..." 

You can read the rest of the full article here:

http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showthread.php?30021-20th-Anniversary-of-the-Halifax-Race-Riots

I also found this video of 'How Things Have Changed Since ...' 

http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2052365689 

The Halifax Race Riot.

People may not remember, or may not talk about it, but it DID happen.

I know it did.  I was there. 

K. 

Someone Who Just Needed A Frostie, And A Kind Word.

I didn't see him when I came out of the bank.

Most of the parking lot at the little strip-mall was deserted.

But once I got into the car and looked over to my left, there he was stumbling along, then doubled over, gasping for breath and beating on his chest.

'Holy crap!', I thought to myself. 'Is he having a heart attack?'

I watched him for a second, but did not immediately get out of the car to assist him.

That probably makes me a bad person. But it is what it is.

He was unkempt, no shirt on, unclean pants, kind of a cross between Waylon Jennings, and Sam Elliott, late 50's, early 60's, and he looked like a homeless person.

But that's not the main reason I didn't get out of the car right away.

It was because he was a BIG guy, homeless or not. And I'm a small woman.

And despite the fact that I may carry the attitude of a giant at times, if someone really wanted to hurt me physically, they could snap me like a twig in a heartbeat, so I have to be realistic and keep that in the back of my mind when I'm approaching big, strange men alone in parking lots.

So I rolled down the window and asked, 'Are you OK?'

He didn't answer me, only gasped, mumbled, and beat on his chest again; then dropped to one knee.

I bolted from the car and got on my knees next to him, asking again, 'Are you OK? Do you need me to call an ambulance? Are you having a heart attack?'

He told me no. No heart attack. No ambulance.

He had asthma, and COPD and in this 30 degree heat, he was weak and couldn't catch his breath and the 'regular' puffer he used wasn't helping because he needed one with prednisone and couldn’t afford it.

I went back to the car to see if I had my puffer in my purse. It contains symbicort, and is what I use for my COPD.

No luck. Puffer was in the other purse at home.

Instead, I grabbed the only thing I had in my car that would hopefully offer him some relief. A piss warm, four day old, half bottle of water.

I ran back over to him and offered him the warm water apologetically, and explained it was the only thing I had, and was pretty gross, but it was wet and may sooth his parched throat a bit at least.

He drank it. Immediately.

Once I knew for sure he wasn't having a heart attack, I sat with him for a few minutes, talking quietly, trying to get his breathing regulated to the point he was no longer gasping.

He told me his story.

He was an addict.

Lost his wife and two kids. To what? Drugs? Liquor? Gambling?

I didn't ask. It didn't matter.

I told him we all make mistakes in life.

He also said he'd recently gotten his '14yr sober' chit, on which I congratulated him.

He then told me that before I got there, he had asked some 'young guys' for a bit of spare change, and they spit on him.

That made me angry, and I really hope none of those boys ever end up on hard times, because what they don't yet realize is that addiction can strip the best person in the world, of everything.

And then, once he was steady and breathing somewhat normally again, he asked me for money to get some food.

Having just come out of the bank, all I had on me were $20 bills, and as much as I wanted to help him, I'm also not naive enough to stick a $20 bill in a homeless person's hand, and hope it's really going to go towards food.

So, I told him I couldn't give him anything right now, but that after I'd run my errand, I would be driving by again on my way back, and I would stop in and if he was still there, I'd give him a bit of money.

He didn't think I was coming back.

I ran my errand, and while I was doing so, picked up a cold bottle of water from the cooler.

Then, I left and went to Wendy's, and bought a cheeseburger, and a Frosty.

It was 30 degrees out there, so I was hoping the Frosty would cool him down a bit.

Then I went back.

He was still sitting there. In the same spot I'd left him.

Not only was he in disbelief that I'd come back, but that I also had food for him.

I crouched down next to him and gave him his water, his Frosty, and told him there was a burger in the bag, and then I gave him $5. 

No, I know that's not very much, but, I told him it was to, 'Call someone who can come and help you.'

He may not have been having a heart attack, but he still needed to get out of the heat.

He was very thankful and appreciative, and for some strange reason, asked me if I was a single mom.

I must give off that vibe.

Then he said, 'Ms, I never touch women. Don't touch them at all, but do you think I could give you a hug?'

Crap.

Dude was a big guy. It's HOT, and he had no shirt on and was sweaty … but I didn't want to be rude ... we settled on a handshake.

I then asked him one last time if he was going to be OK. 

He said yes, so I got back in the car, wished him a good weekend, and went on my way.

I didn't do anything special. I saw someone who looked to be in trouble, and stopped to see if I could help. Something I'm sure most of you would do.

It's been a few hours now, and I'm still thinking about him.

I hope he got out of the heat. And I hope he has somewhere to sleep. And I hope nobody else spit on him today.

Cause really, under that unkempt, partially clothed, sweaty, gasping man, was just that, a man.

A fellow human being.

Someone who just needed a Frostie, and a kind word.

And a better puffer.

K.

Everyone Was Offering Snoop Dogg Weed ... So I Offered To Cook Him Dinner

Last fall I went to work one day, only to leave a few hours later no longer employed.

Laid off ... after almost 10yrs with the same organization.

I have a post coming up soon, my latest column for The Laker, which describes how I handled this, and life after the layoff.  

That's not what today's post is about, though.

Today is about an adventure I went on BECAUSE of that layoff.


Those of you who know me personally, especially since childhood, may remember my love of being on stage.

7-8 yrs old

Senior Year

Sometime in my 30's

Yeah, the little girl who loved to write, and act, ended up Ms. Corporate Professional, working in IT and training.

Go figure.


One thing the layoff did provide, was a bit of time to explore my options.

Did i want to go right back to work, doing what I was doing?  Or did I want to try something new? Something totally different.

Then I saw the casting call, looking for background actors for the taping of a new season of a well known TV series being filmed here in Nova Scotia.


I had signed up with Hennessey Casting awhile back.

I filled in a profile.  I sent the required pictures.  Nothing professional, just 'regular' recent shots, because that was all I had.

And then I did nothing.

I didn't apply for anything for a long time, partly because I couldn't exactly take time off from my 'real' job, to 'have fun' for a day as a background actor, and partly because I didn't really think I'd get picked for anything, as I have no professional acting experience.


A few weeks ago though, I saw that call, for a show that my younger boy absolutely LOVES.

Holy Crap!  I've done some pretty interesting things over the years in my career, but if I was picked for this ... the boy would LOSE HIS MIND!

I went to the casting website, read the requirements, took a deep breath, and clicked ... APPLY.

And then I waited.  And didn't say a word.  To anyone.


I didn't want to even say I had applied for anything, so I wouldn't have to hear the 'Ohhh sorry you didn't get it', if nothing happened.

So I waited.  In silence.


And then, a few days later, the email came.

"Congratulations, you are now BOOKED as a background actor on Trailer Park Boys"  

(pic below wasn't actually included with the email

 - just one of my favourites)

 Pic taken from HERE.

Holy Crap! I was picked!

Yes, the boy lost his mind.

Now ... what was I going to wear?  ACK!



The night before I was due to be on set, I got another surprise.

I would be in the same scene as guest stars Snoop Dogg, and Tom Arnold.

Um ... WHAT?!?!?!?  And once again, HOLY CRAP!


Much of Nova Scotia was abuzz about the fact that Snoop was in town to be on the show.

People were stalking the set most of the week, hoping to get an autograph or at least catch a glimpse of the famous rapper.

And then came the Buzzfeed headline, 'Snoop Dogg Is In Small Town Nova Scotia, And Everyone Is Offering Him Weed!' 


Alright, so everyone knows the man likes his herb.  But ... really?

Come on, 'Scotians!  Be a bit more original!

I decided that if I happened to get the chance to talk to him, that's exactly what I'd be! 

Original!


So the day came, and off I went to Truro, the location of the fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park. 


The biggest thing I think I learned about background acting that day is, it's A LOT of waiting around.

After we signed the paperwork and met with wardrobe ... we waited.

Because I had an afternoon call time, (thank you casting Gods!) we waited for the cast to finish the morning shoot.

There was waiting for everyone to have lunch.  Myself included.

It was catered and really good, but I could hardly eat.  I didn't want to be on camera with food in my teeth, and no dental floss!

There was waiting once we got to the specific location where we were shooting with Snoop, Tom Arnold and the rest of the TPB crew.

This was also the time you were assessed by the hair and makeup people and given your prop and instructions.

And then you waited some more.

And then they said ... 'OK Background, you're up!'


I can't tell you what we did, or what, exactly, the scene entailed because of non-disclosure agreements, and well ... I don't want to spill secrets and piss off Ricky, Julian and Bubbles!  Or Snoop!  Or Hennessey Casting!

You'll just have to watch Season 10 when it comes out on Netflix.

But I CAN tell you ... it was a pretty awesome experience, and a great day overall! 

And yes, I did meet Ricky, Julian, and Snoop Dogg.  And chatted with 'T' out in the parking lot when we were finished.

WHAT?

You think I'd leave there without at least meeting a couple of my boy's favourites, if at all possible?

PFFFFTTT!!!! Right!


Let me be clear in stating that I did NOT bug the cast during taping.

At all.

I didn't go near them.

And yes, the majority of them were there. And this close!

But just because I had never done anything like this before, didn't mean I didn't recognize the importance of professionalism on set.

And we had been specifically warned by the casting company, 'NO PICTURES' on set unless we were given permission!

Since I want to work with this organization again, I followed the rules. 

I took no pictures.

That's not to say others didn't snap a picture of me. With friends.


I waited until we were completely finished for the day and when I saw some of the cast hanging around, casually talking to people in the room, I went over.

I spoke to 'Ricky' (Robb Wells) about going to school with his brother many years ago.

I spoke to 'Julian' (John Paul Tremblay) about what is REALLY in that glass.

And then I approached Snoop. 

He had been there for awhile, but I could see him slowly making his way towards the door, and I knew my boys would never forgive me if I let him go without at least saying hello, so it was now or never.


I waked over and said, 'Hi!'.

Then, because the dude is REALLY tall, I stood up on tiptoe, and whispered in his ear, 'I hear everyone in Nova Scotia has been offering you their weed.  Well, I'm going to offer you something different!'

Oh get your minds out of the gutter, people! It wasn't anything inappropriate!

Although I'm sure he also had no idea what I was about to say next.

Since I was no longer at his ear, he looked down at me through his shades and asked, 'What's that?'

I said, 'I'm offering you a home cooked meal.'

He looked surprised and said, 'Ohhhh I haven't had THAT!'

'I figured you hadn't!', I replied. Then continued on ...

'Just think... home cooked beef and broccoli stir-fry ... or tavern style ribs in the slow cooker aallllll day, covered in BBQ sauce ... so much better than take out!'

I could almost see his mouth watering through the smile when he said, 'That sounds GOOD!'

'I know it does.  Now ... those casting people have my information ... you want that home cooked meal ... you find me.  I'll make you dinner.'

And then we took a picture together and I walked away.


Everyone was offering Snoop Dogg weed ... So I offered to cook him dinner.

The man was offered weed by every Tom (not Arnold), Dick, Harry AND Jane in town.  He's not going to remember any of those people.

But ... guaranteed nobody else offered him a home cooked meal while he was here (unless, perhaps, a cast member who lives here full time).  

THAT he'll remember!

Maybe.

Of course, I can't tell you if he took me up on my offer.  Because I did promise him 'NO PAPARAZZI!'  Nobody would even know he was here.

MUAHAHAHAHHAHAHH!

And that was it. That was a wrap.  I waited for my paperwork to be complete, and then left.


As I was heading to my car, I was introduced to and had the pleasure of chatting with 'T' (Tyrone Parsons) for a few minutes. What a nice guy!

All very nice people, including the rest of the background cast and crew.


Overall, it was a great experience.  Something I would most definitely do again.

And as luck would have it ... I DID!

I was back on set at the Trailer Park for a another day the following week!

Different scene.



Don't bother looking for me in the Snoop episode, though.  

I haven't seen the finished product, but I was at the back of a crowded room, so chances are you won't see me.

But keep an eye out for the chick in the red shirt ... just in case!


Oh, and Snoop ... you missed out on the ribs, Dude.  We had them this week.

But the offer still stands, next time you're in town.  

K.

P.S.  Thank you to 'the powers that be' for giving me the go-ahead to publish this post! 

I Could Have Killed That Police Officer. I Came That Close.

There's a relatively new law (where I live), that came into effect in 2010, which states you must slow down to 60km an hour, and pull over into the lane furthest away, if there is an emergency vehicle pulled off to the side of the road.

I get it.  

I understand why the law is there.

We're all trying to avoid causing another accident.

But sometimes, following this law can actually cause the accident, as I discovered the other day.


Since the weather was finally cooperating on Wednesday and the sun was shining, I decided to go for a small road trip to visit the Bestie.

The double-lane highway was surprisingly good the whole way.

I wasn't speeding.  In fact, I was keeping it at an even hundred, so I was a little bit under the limit.

But on these roads, after the weather we've had, you just never know when you're going to hit a small drift in the middle of the lane(s), or black ice that sends your tires into a spin and your car out of control.

So I was simply keeping up with everyone else, and even managed to pass when I could.

Passing was easy, as long as you watched for the clean stretches.  But like I said, every now and then you hit an unexpected snow/slush patch, so passing was only attempted when necessary (coming up behind someone who was painfully crawling along), and on a clean straight stretch.

I may be a woman driver, but contrary to the belief of some, that doesn't automatically mean I'm an idiot when it comes to driving.

I'm safe and I pay attention.


I was about 10 minutes from Truro when it happened. 

I had come up behind a cube van, and ahead of that was an 18 wheeler without the box on top.  It still had the long trailer part on the back, behind the cab, just no box.

I looked around the cube van and saw the passing lane was clear of snow and slush.

Clear.

So I pulled out to pass.

I got past the cube van no problem, and since the passing lane was still good, I kept going.

I had just started to pass it. Was maybe three feet or so past the very end of the truck.

All of a sudden, without warning, he started coming over into my lane.

You know those moments, when something unbelievable is happening, and you're thinking ... 'WTF?  Is this really happening?!?!?'

Yeah, it was one of those moments.


I looked over and despite the fact I was yelling, 'STOP!', ' STOP!' ... yes, it was really happening. The 18 wheeler was coming into my lane.

He was going to drive straight into the front of my car!

Did he not see me?

What the hell was he doing?

I immediately let off the gas.


Here I was, driving along, minding my own business, and all of a sudden I'm faced with the decision of letting an 18 wheeler slam into me, or run me off the road into the ditch.

Those were my two choices at the moment.

Instead, I went with option number 3.  The WRONG one.


When I saw the truck was REALLY ready to hit me, I panicked.

I admit it.  I'm an idiot.  I panicked.

I hit the brakes to avoid the crash.


Unfortunately, I hit the brakes at the exact same moment I was going over a snow/slush covered patch in my lane.

I lost control.


Everything else happened in a matter of seconds.

The minute I hit the brakes, I fishtailed, spun out and turned sideways.

When I tried to regain control, I spun out again, and flew out behind the 18 wheeler, into the right hand lane where he had just come from.


When I slid out from behind the truck, I came face to face with a police car, in the middle of the lane, and the police officer standing NEXT TO THE CAR in the middle of the highway.

He was not pulled over safely to the side. He was right in the middle of the freakin' road!

My heart stopped.  Literally stopped beating, I know it. 


Here it was, a gorgeous sunny morning, about 10 am, all was right with my world, and now ... I'm about to smoke a police officer standing in the middle of the road.

What is happening right now?!?!??!!?

I panicked again.  Don't judge.  If you're about to slam into a person standing in the middle of the highway, with your out of control car, you'd panic, too!

I yanked the wheel back to the left and slid again.

There was one and only one thought going through my head.

'Please, God, don't let me hit him!'


I have no idea what that poor man thought, seeing a car coming straight at him (sort of), but out of control.

I didn't make it back into the passing lane completely, but by a few feet, it was enough.

When I yanked the wheel to the left, and the car turned and slid, I went by the police officer and his car ... sideways.

Yes, sideways.  

Might have been diagonally, but it wasn't straight.

My ass end was facing him on the way by, nose pointing at the ditch, and all I saw in that split second when I turned around, was his sunglasses, as his head turned to watch me slide by.

Another second later, and I hit the dry patch, regained control, moved over and fell in behind the 18 wheeler, who eventually pulled over to the right hand lane again.


The police officer didn't come after me, and no, I didn't stop.

There were still cars behind me, although the cube van had backed off when he saw me lose control, so I didn't want to take the chance of hitting the brakes to stop and lose it again.


I shook the rest of the way to Truro.

I probably should have pulled over for a minute, if nothing else, to stop shaking, but I just wanted to get to the Bestie's and get out of the car.

I made the pit stop at Tims, and when I finally got through her door, I said, 'OK, I'm going to have a little breakdown now.'

And I did.

I cried for what had almost happened.

I could have killed that police officer.  I came that close.


I realize now what happened.

There must have been an accident earlier in the morning and a tow truck had come to get a car involved. 

The tow truck was still on the highway, with the car on back, and I believe the police officer was where he was to warn the traffic of the tow truck up ahead.

I get it.

I know why he was there.

I now know the 18 wheeler didn't have any choice but to cut me off, or HE may have hit the officer.


But ... here's the part that bothers me.  The car was already on the back of the tow truck. WHY didn't they all pull off, safely, to the side of the road, at least?


All the stars and planets aligned to put that officer in the middle of the road, and the truck cut me off, and I hit the snow patch all at the same time.

I could have killed that police officer and it all would have happened in a heartbeat.

My life, his life, our families would have forever been changed.

But that's not how the story ended, after all.

Wasn't in the plans for that day.


I simply can't express how happy I am, that the stars and planets also aligned to make sure I slid by him, even if it was ass end sideways, instead of sliding INTO him.

I'm sure he's pretty happy things turned out the way they did, too.

I'm truly sorry Mr. Police Officer.  It wasn't my intention to scare the crap out of you that morning. Thank you for everything you do to keep us safe.


Hope he keeps a change of underwear in his car, just for days like those, and people like me!


K.

Psssstttt ... Hey Mom! Look Who's On Page 16!

Happy Birthday to me!

Happy Birthday to me!

I've officially been PUBLISHED!

Happy Birthday ... to ME!


Yes, today really is my birthday, but that's not the big news!

The news I've been anxiously sitting on, because a couple of months ago, the most amazing thing happened.

An email landed in my inbox, from a reporter who wanted to know if I would be interested in possibly writing a column for one of our local monthly newspapers, The Laker.

Huh?

What?

ME?

YES!!!

After a bit of conversation, it turned out that we have a mutual friend in common, and it was through her facebook 'likes', that he found this little Korner of mine.

He liked what he saw, thought I might be a good fit for the paper, but still had to discuss it with the editor.

Well, cool!


Then, I heard from the editor and she asked the hard question.  "Which topics were you thinking of tackling?"

Well, crap. 

As you all know, that could be just about anything that's going on in my head at any given moment!

And that's pretty much what I told her.


But then I thought to myself, if this was really it, if this was my opportunity to get something I had written out to the world, somewhere other than my own blog, my very first published piece, what would I want that to be?

Should I submit something I'd already written, or come up with something entirely new?

I knew I wanted it to be something relevant. Something I felt strongly about. Something that could be of personal interest to most anyone reading it.

So I reworked it a bit, to accommodate for the word limit, and chose the blog post I wrote a couple of months ago, about the launch of the Rehtaeh Parsons Society.  


And then I waited.

It was the middle of January, and the next edition of the paper wouldn't be out for a couple of weeks.

This may be my first rodeo, but I do know enough to know that if it's a busy news month in the community, the opinion column wouldn't necessarily make it into print.

But that was OK with me.

I was ecstatic that I was even being given the opportunity in the first place, (...to write a column ... for a paper ... GAH! ), so I'd just try again the next month!


Today, my birthday, I picked this up.  It's the newest edition of The Laker.

 

Psssstttt! ... Hey Mom! Look who's on Page 16!

They published my column.

With my very own by-line!

I have to say, aside from, 'HOLY CRAP! That's me!', that's pretty much the best damn birthday present this girl could EVER ask for!

Well, OK. Maybe finding THIS in my driveway would be the best damn birthday present this girl could EVER ask for ...

 

 Pic taken from HERE

But seeing my own words and thoughts, in a column I wrote in the newspaper ... that's pretty freakin' awesome, too.




K.

A Ticket Forward

My last 'vacation' was in 1995, and that was my honeymoon. 

Every year, I make myself the same promise, 'THIS will be the year I go somewhere WARM!'

I live in Nova Scotia, and I grew up in northern New Brunswick.

I have four seasons which consist of occasionally warm, kind of chilly, cold and freeze your ass off.

I HATE the cold.  With a passion.  I was born in the wrong climate! Thank you, Mom and Dad (Kidding.  I love you.  Just not where you chose to live).

Every year, I plan to use my tax return on a trip 'away'. 

Every year, that plan goes down the drain when the tax money has to be used to pay the monstrous power bill, or car repairs, or sports fees for the kids or ... or ... or.

There's always something to spend it on.

And it's never a trip. Anywhere. Let alone warm.



Don't get me wrong, I've taken my kids away on overnight excursions to places like Crystal Palace, but that's a two hour drive away, and we stayed at my mom's place.

Other than when my parents took the boys and I to Canada's Wonderland back in 2001, they've never been on a plane.  I've never taken them away anywhere on a real vacation.

And I've certainly never gone anywhere exotic with friends, or alone.

But the way I see it, they may not be world travelers, but they've had a good childhood. 

We've had fun.
 
And if I put all my resources into raising my kids now, on the things we need, and some of the extras they want, in another few years, there will be time for 'me' trips.

I plan on hitting a sandy beach with palm trees somewhere in this big world.

Someday.


 
I know I'm not the only person who has dreamed of traveling to places they've never been.

And I know I'm not the only one who can't afford to simply call an airline and book a ticket to ... wherever, whenever their heart desires.

On this single mom's budget, it's just not possible.

Yes, many people are able to save for their adventures. They put money away, they sell things, they do whatever they have to in order to raise the cash to live their dreams.

For others, despite the saving, or fundraising, or planning, or wanting, it just doesn't happen.



Now, that's all about to change for some very lucky people.

A new charity is being launched this week, hoping to make some of those abandoned travel dreams a reality.

It's called, A Ticket Forward.


This new initiative is the brainchild of Jordan Axani.

Jordan recently found himself with an extra 'round the world' airline ticket, and instead of letting it go to waste, he searched for a travel mate.

You can read Jordan's original story HERE with an update, HERE!


 
But this isn't about Jordan, really.  It's about the new charity that he has created as a result of his journey to find that travel mate.

Jordan received many responses to his ad, from people all over the world, of all ages, who were afraid of never seeing their dream destination.  

Many of these messages and stories he found extremely touching.

It made him want to help them all and A Ticket Forward was born.

From their (temporary) website, "A Ticket Forward elevates quality of life by facilitating the connection for individuals with people and places that matter to them most. We believe that travel is more than a luxury; it means the world. We partner with donors, brands and organizations to remove the distance between loved ones, enable cross-cultural exchange, and provide opportunities for personal growth." - A Ticket Forward 




Basically,  Jordan and his teams in LA, NYC, and Toronto are working with the Edward Charles Foundation, as well as corporate and private sponsors, to provide crowdfunding and private funding for eligible applicants, and will make it happen!

There is an application process, and no guarantees, but if an applicant is selected by the Selection Committee, and they are short listed, there is a chance that their trip will be funded by A Ticket Forward.


Is there somewhere you always wanted to go but for whatever reason, could not?  Tell them your story!

You can either apply to A Ticket Forward on your own, or submit the name of someone you feel would be deserving of their trip of a lifetime.

If you meet their requirements, found HERE, and you believe this could be the one opportunity you (or someone you know) would ever have to see that one special destination, go ahead ... APPLY!

You can find their application page HERE.


I think this is a wonderful thing Jordan and his team are doing.

Giving to deserving people, and making dreams come true is always a good thing.


And now, if you'll excuse me ... it's below 0 degrees here today, so I think I'll turn up the heat, sit in my tub for awhile with a mai tai and dream of palm trees.

On the bright side, I don't have to worry about sharks in my tub.  

Or unsightly Speedos .

Hey ... HEY!  NO splashing!!!


K.

******* UPDATE! ********

I have since found their NEW website!  The first group of people have been chosen to receive A Ticket Forward!  See it HERE.  

You can also find their Facebook page HERE.

******* UPDATE! ********