Provincial Flag of Newfoundland
I remember crossing the TCH
many times in my young life
often several times a day
going to school and church
walking to the post office
and mostly it was mere seconds
but it stayed in my memory
There was no cross walk back then
walking across the TCH meant stopping
sometimes for minutes to let traffic go
and wonder about the license plates from
many provinces and states, the faces in the windows
and I thought some of these vehicles might stop
to explore our small community of Pasadena
When I grew older I had different
thoughts about that wide road that
took people to the capital city of St.John’s
or farther to Port-Aux-Basques and on
across the country to Vancouver Island
I imagined myself hiking to exciting places such as
that far off island which might be different than ours
Friends and relatives often asked me as I
was studying to be a teacher and travelling across the island
what do you want to do with your life
and where do you want to live and I was sure that
I wanted to go as far away as I could to explore the planet
to British Columbia, Nunavut and many countries around the world
and I was brave enough to do it and have never regretted it
I often think about the TCH and how it seemed
like an endless ribbon to me as an imaginative child
one road on which I would one day wander to many cities
and meet many people and observe many events,
a road to bring visitors to our town and then to let them return
it was always the beginning of my journey
and where I return to recharge my batteries each year
Vancouver Island off the coast of BC
Flag of the island of Vancouver
Related articles
- Walking To The Post Office (newfoundlandtraveller.wordpress.com)
- Trucker forces vehicles off TCH (cbc.ca)
- Accident closes TCH near Gander (cbc.ca)
- TCH collision may have been hit and run (cbc.ca)
