By Laurie Dujardin

I grew up in an isolated town in a valley surrounded by high mountains on Vancouver Island. Everything revolved around forestry as well as the pulp and paper mills, the putrid, all-pervasive stench of which hung over the town, day in and day out like a heavy shroud. Due to the heavy rainfall, it at least appeared as a beautiful green place, with huge trees and flowers and gardens. That which we call culture was sorely lacking and entertainment usually involved boating, camping or fishing along with woodsmen competitions of various sorts. There was also a LOT of excessive drinking followed by numerous bar brawls, again a type of competition to see who was the stronger.