Atlas, pre-shrug

That's Deborah and me, two Falcon Beach writers, on Deborah's last night in town a couple of weeks ago. A metaphor for the weight we've had to carry on the show. She sloughed off her burden, and soon I shall too. September 22 is my last day on the job, and I'm flying home September 23. That's less than 2 weeks away, just in time to escape the dreaded Manitoba winter, and just in time to enjoy the lovely Toronto fall.

For the curious among you, that polar bear statue is named Nanookshuk (nanook = polar bear + inukshuk = Inuit navigational marker appropriated as an "i was here" by smug white hikers) , and it's the result of one of those city-wide animal sculpture initiatives that seemed to infect every corner of the globe a few years ago. Zurich and Chicago had cows; Toronto had moose; Winnipeg had polar bears.

Is Winnipeg a polar bear breeding ground? Am I at risk of being devourerd by the world's largest land carnivore every time I step onto the sidewalk? Never fear! According to D Blog:

In response to Al’s comment, who asked whether I’ve seen the Polar Bears that live near Winnipeg, I decided to write this blog, as I find it interesting how so many people south of the border, and even some in Canada have a bit of a misconception about Winnipeg. I don’t blame anyone from believing that there are Polar bears here, though as winters in here do get pretty damn cold. However, the Polar Bears don’t come this far down. The Polar Bears are in Churchill, which is a city way up north in this same province, by the Hudson Bay. You can’t drive there, you have to fly, or take a 38-hour train to get there. Perhaps Al and some others have read about that, and believe Churchill is near by Winnipeg, but it actually is pretty far away.